Did You Really Look My Way?
by katlevo
Summary: AU. 'If falling for you is crazy, then I'm going out of my mind.' Ashley's a mystery, but will Spencer be able to unravel her?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **First fan fiction I've ever written. The title are lyrics from For The Nights I Can't Remember by Hedley. Let me know what you think of the story.

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own the show or the characters.

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**Spencer's POV**

I quickly closed my locker and made my way to the cafeteria. School has been so hectic lately and it wasn't getting any easier. When I picked Music as my elective, I thought it would be a breeze because, well, it's music right? Well, _no._ I can't read the notes for the sake of my life and I suck at playing the triangle. I know what you're thinking but the triangle is a hard piece of work!

"Hey chica, over here!" Madison yelled, frantically waving her arms.

Over at our table is Madison and Kyla, two of my closest friends. They were arguing about which teacher was hotter.

"Hi guys, what's up?" I asked as I sat down across from Madison.

"Hey Spence, _Dora_ over here thinks Mr. Rodriguez is hot. How gross is that? It's like dating your dad or your creepy uncle." Kyla said, shivering at the thought.

"Hey! Don't talk about him like that. He's just misunderstood…" Madison replied with a dreamy look on her face.

I rolled my eyes. Kyla giggled and swatted Madison on her arm, waking her from her day dream. "What's with you and older men? There's plenty of guys your age you know."

"I can't help it if I like my meat aged." She shrugged.

Kyla scoffed at Madison's reply. I watched amused, waiting for a verbal smack down to happen between the two. It usually happens at least once a week and it's _hella_ entertaining.

"_Anyway_, some girl bumped into me today when I was walking to Math and didn't even apologize! Like, who does that? She just looked at me then walked off. Ugh!" Kyla exclaimed dramatically.

_Well, so much for a verbal smack down._

I joined in on their conversation, "I'm sure you were fine. It was probably just a bump, no need to act like she sawed your arm off." Kyla here can be quite the drama queen and she tends to exaggerate things. _A lot._ Once, she tackled me head first to the ground when I walked into her room. She claimed that she thought I was a burglar. Yeah _right_. She probably wanted to get her daily dose of dramatic acting done before bed.

Just as Kyla started to say something, Madison butted in. "Who was she?"

"Don't you think if I knew who she was, I would be hunting her down right now?" Kyla snapped.

Don't underestimate Kyla. She may be small but she is _strong_ … and violent at times too. I learned that the hard way.

"Woah chica, I'm on your side here." Madison replied defensively, raising her hands.

"Whatever." The brunette drawled.

Kyla turned towards me, "So Spencer, how's Music going so far? I heard some freshmen talking about 'a chick that didn't know how to play the triangle' and I put two and two together and figured it was you." She smirked.

Madison joined in, "Yeah! I heard one of them say that you broke the metal rod hitting the triangle thingy!"

Both of them bursted into laughter and held on to each other, trying to catch their breaths.

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. "Oh god, never bring that up again. I swear the damn thing was already broken or something..." I have Music after lunch and I'm dreading it. At least I won't be playing the triangle anymore.

Madison started to calm done and questioned, "Why did you even pick Music as your elective if you were so bad at it?"

"Figured I would try something new for once." I shrugged. I'm not entirely sure why I picked Music either. My life would've been a hell lot easier if I picked Art ... and less embarrassing too.

Their laughter slowly died until they stopped completely, much to my pleasure. Kyla and Madison seemed to have lost interest in me because they picked up their conversation before I arrived. I just sat there looking around the cafeteria. People were coming in and out of the doors while others sat in a group with their friends. Everybody had their own group, whether it was with nerds, outcasts, or the populars. Nobody wanted to be alone.

I glanced around until my eyes landed on a particular person. I don't really know her. She's been at this school since freshmen year, too. Never spoken a word to her or rather _she_ has never spoken a word to me.

She just sat there alone, with her earphones on, bobbing her head to whatever she was listening to. Her curly chestnut hair was tamed by a beanie today, unlike other days where it was kept under control with a snapback.

She remained clueless that I was even looking at her. Maybe it was because her eyes were closed. _Duh._ She never spoke much to anyone and spent most of her time by herself. She wasn't one to rely on others and wasn't really close with anybody the way I've seen it. Why would anyone want to be alone? I looked around again, seeing exactly what I thought I would see. Everyone was desperately trying to find people to sit with.

I looked back at her. It seemed like she was comfortable being blended in with the wall, with no attention on her at all.

I continued to study her, trying to get into her mind. I only shared one class with her and guess which one it is? Yup, my worse class, Music. Even in class she's quiet. She sits there and soaks in all the information, actually looking like she's interested in what the teacher's saying. She does look like the musical type.

My mind rambled off when her eyes suddenly opened and looked directly at me. God, her eyes are to die for. Even from a distance, I could tell that she was squinting at me almost, trying to figure out why I was looking at her in the first place.

Any normal person would look away or pretend that they were looking at something else, but I stared back into her brown eyes and challenged her. I saw her sigh and wondered if I did something wrong. She stood up, grabbed her skateboard, and started walking out of the cafeteria.

I watched her walk away. The way her band shirt hugged her body, the way her loose jeans hung off her hips, and the way her curls bounced up and down entranced me as she walked towards the exit.

Just as she opened the door to leave, I saw her glance back at me. Crap, she's gonna think I'm some kind of stalker with all the staring I'm doing. She seemed surprised to find out I was still watching her, but I saw her quickly shake her head and walk out the door.

Minutes passed by and I was still looking at the door, long after she was gone.

"Who's that you're staring at Spence?" Kyla asked raising her eyebrows.

I looked back at Kyla and Madison to see them both waiting for an answer.

_Ashley Davies._

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**A/N: **Read_ & Review please :)_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Second chapter's up! Updates will be about every 2 days. Everyday if I'm feeling inspired. I'll let you in on a secret ... reviews inspire me :)

No idea where things are going yet, but I do read the reviews, so I'll try to make all of you happy.

And to clear things up, Kyla and Ashley are not related. Ashley's an only child.

**_Disclaimer:_** _I don't own the show or characters._

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**Ashley's POV**

I dropped my skateboard to the ground and pushed off. I kept pushing and pushing as I watched King High get smaller in the distance. I hummed along to my iPod as I rounded a corner and followed a trail bordered with tall leafy trees. I'm so familiar with this path that I knew when my favourite tree is coming up without looking. I've been doing this for a while - coming here that is. You would easily miss the trail if you weren't paying close attention because it's tucked in a street corner.

Of course, with all the chaos going on today, who would take time to notice a trail right? None the less, _explore _the trail. People have places to be and people to impress.

I put my foot down, dragging the skateboard to a slow stop in front of the best tree out of the variety. It looks like every other tree, but it stands out .. if you know what I mean. Maybe it's just because I'm so attached to this tree. I've known it for .. 3 years I think? I dunno, I've been coming here since the middle of grade 9, and it's been here for me all this time - like it's rooted to the spot or something. I prefer to think that it likes me.

I tossed my skateboard to the side and plopped myself against the tree. I sat there with my skateboard in my lap and pulled out my notebook from my messenger bag. I glanced around and took note of the eery calmness that surrounded me. It's always been like this here. All you hear are the rustling leaves and distant sounds of laughter.

I sighed and took off my beanie, running my hand through the mess on my head. I scooted down the tree until I was laying flat on my back and closed my eyes. My mind ran through everything that happened so far today. You can never get a thought in at school because of all the shows people put on. Each person trying to out do the other. I never understood the point of all that.

I thought about everything, from my breakfast, to creepy Mr. Rodriguez, to why I chose a beanie as my hair tamer for the day. I wonder whose genes I got because both my parents have silky straight hair.

I looked up at the sky and saw that it's clear - no clouds in sight. That's strange, where'd they go? The blue sky shined straight at me, reminding me of a set of blue eyes that had done the same thing back in the cafeteria.

My eyebrows scrunched together. What was she looking at? _Why_ was she looking at me? She looked like she had stared at me for a long time before I even opened my eyes. She didn't even look away when I caught her .. who does that?

I stared up into the sky, hoping that maybe things and people with blue features can read each other's mind. I waited for the answer to come down upon me, but nothing. Obviously, the sky was a few shades of blue off or something from _her_ eyes because it didn't seem to know the answer to my any of my questions.

With a frustrated groan, I pushed myself off of the grass and stood up. I grabbed my skateboard and adjusted my bag on my shoulder. I checked my phone and according to it, I still had about 30 minutes left of my lunch break.

I slowly walked along the trail, making my way to a park I know that's down the path. I discovered it one day when I skateboarded too far from my tree because I forgot which one it was. Don't worry, I would never cheat on my tree. I'm a one-tree kind of woman.

After about 5 minutes of walking, I saw the park in sight and made my way over to one of the swings. You would think that a 16-going-on-17 year old girl would be too old for this, but _no_, you're never too old for this. I pushed my legs back and forth a few times until I was swinging on my own.

I swung up and down for a while.

The swing slowed to a stop when I heard sounds of laughter. I looked over at the playground and saw a small girl with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes going down the slide. She squealed the whole way down until her mom scooped her up into her arms and spun her around.

A small smile broke out on my face when I saw the girl plant a big loud kiss on her mom's cheek. They both had toothy grins plastered on their faces. The mom's eyes were so full of love as she set her daughter down and walked away hand in hand.

I thought about my mom's eyes. They were always full of disappointment or anger. It didn't matter if I was a good student or a goddamn saint because it wasn't important in her eyes. She wished for a perfect frilly daughter. One she could go to mani/pedis with, go dress shopping with, someone who she could gossip with. She basically wished for a princess.

Instead, she got me. Unless her definition of princess involved wearing band shirts, loose jeans, and converse, along with skills like skateboarding and playing guitar, I'm not what she wanted. I mean I _try_ to get along with her, but she basically rips me to pieces about .. well .. anything. She doesn't even need a reason. I've given up on it. I don't try to fight back anymore, I just stand there until she's done bashing me about how I dress and whatnot, then leave.

I realized that I'm sitting on the slide now. I guess I was walking around while I was ranting in my head. I looked around not seeing the small girl anywhere. I checked my phone again and jumped straight up realizing that I was late for class.

According to my phone, class should be starting in a few minutes. Shit, and it's my favourite class too. I quickly grabbed my skateboard, pulled my beanie on and started pumping my legs. It usually takes me 15 minutes to get out here on my skateboard plus 5 minutes to the park. Damn, I'm gonna be later than I thought.

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**Spencer's POV**

It's been about half an hour into class and Ashley's nowhere to be seen. I wonder where she is because she never misses this class. Shit, I wonder if it was because of me staring at her? Ugh, it can't be _that _right? Nah, I'm sure it's not. Maybe she got sick or something..

My mind started listing reasons to why Ashley was't here yet until I'm distracted as I see her walk in. Her face was flushed and she was gripping onto her skateboard. I chuckled quietly when I noticed her curls sticking wildly out of her beanie. I quickly stopped when I saw her glance towards me trying to figure out where the sound was coming from.

She looked directly in my eyes and I see her eyebrows scrunch together.

Her gaze was broken when the teacher cleared her throat. "Miss Davies, you do understand class started 30 minutes ago?"

"Uhh, yeah .." She tucked a curl behind her ear. "… sorry, I lost track of time and didn't realize that lunch was over. I tried to get here as fast as I could though" she explained waving her skateboard around.

"I appreciate the effort, but where did you go that would take you that long to get back?", the teacher asked looking confused.

"Um…" I watched Ashley as she nervously played with the edge of her shirt.

The teacher waited for an answer, but when it was clear she wouldn't get one, she sighed.

"I'll let it slide this time, but don't make it a habit, am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am"

"Good, now go take your seat."

She walked down the classroom aisle and took a seat at the desk diagonally in front of me. I observed her and saw that she was still catching her breath. Where _did_ she go? Is that why she's never in the cafeteria during lunch? Gah, I'm gonna go crazy with all these thoughts.

I can't focus knowing that she's sitting right there, in a perfect position for me to look at her without her knowing. Man, that sounded really creepy didn't it?

"Miss Carlin! Are you paying attention?" I snapped out of my debate and look to the front of the classroom.

"Yeah Miss, I'm all ears." I said grinning.

"Good. As I was saying, we're gonna be spending about 2 months on Guitar." Damn, if I sucked at the triangle, I'm gonna fail miserably at guitar. I slumped back into my seat and drowned myself in pity.

"So does anybody here know how to play guitar?" A few students raised their hands up, but most surprisingly, Ashley did too. Well, how would I know if she played or not.

"Ah, Miss Davies, how long have you been playing for?" the teacher asked with a smile on her face.

"Ever since I was little really…" she replied looking down at her desk. She seemed a little uncomfortable with all the attention on her.

"So I take it that you're an expert then?"

Ashley sighed and stared at her hands. "I guess so…" Her hair curtained her face as she tried to hide behind them.

"Well, that's great! How about you others that raised up their hands?" All of them nodded 'yes' as well.

"Not to offend anyone, but I can tell some individuals have difficulties with finding their musical talent so I'm gonna pair those students up with these guitar players."

I rolled my eyes. Ugh, can this day get any worse, she's basically calling me out on my music disability.

"Jennifer, you're with Ethan. I think you two will work very well together." Jennifer looked at Ethan and smiled. _Gag_.

"Valerie, you're with Melissa. I know you guys know each other well, but don't try to fool around too much in class." They must have counted their lucky stars or something because those two are basically 2 peas in a pod. How the teacher even thought that this was a good idea is beyond me.

"Martin, you're with Greg. He'll be able to help you with your coordination skills." Martin was the clumsiest guy _ever_. He can barely walk without tripping over.

"And lastly, Spencer, you're with Ashley. You probably know yourself that-" I tuned her out immediately when I heard our names in the same sentence. My eyes widened and my jaw went slack.

I looked in Ashley's direction but I couldn't see her face. She was leaning forward on her left elbow, effectively blocking my sight of her. Before I could even try to analyze her actions, the teacher cuts me off.

"We'll be starting tomorrow. Get to know your partners because you'll be spending quite some time with them. As for the rest of you, you'll be learning with me."

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_**A/N:** Read & Review! Tell me what you thought about it._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Here you go! I personally liked writing Ashley's POV more, not sure why. So tell me what you thought about this chapter! Feedback is appreciated.

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own the characters or the show.

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**Ashley's POV**

I walked into Music class and took my usual seat. I was about 15 minutes early today because I felt like I had to make up for being late yesterday. You can be sure that I'll never be late again. God, when I walked in, all eyes were trained on me. It was unnerving.

I leaned back into my seat and pulled out my iPod. I searched through my playlists, trying to decide which song to listen to. Unable to make up my mind, I just hit shuffle.

I looked around and realized that I was the first one in class. Well, isn't that something? The classroom was empty. No teacher. No students. Nothing.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Is it strange that I feel most comfortable like this?

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Time must've passed by quicker than I thought because before I knew it, I heard people filing in through the door. A few people hit my chair on the way to their desk, waking me from my slumber.

I pulled my earphones out and slipped my iPod into my bag. I sat there, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson. Music was easily my favourite class and I thanked the Lord for whoever created this course. It's the one class I actually looked forward to, and honestly, the only reason I came to school.

I drummed my fingers on the desk and looked at the clock to see that it was almost time for class to start.

Just as the bell rang, I saw her walk into the classroom. _Spencer_. I watched her eyes flick towards mine and then quickly look away as she took her seat. I frowned a little, confused ... about what, I'm not sure.

The conversations continued as the teacher stepped up to the front of the room.

"Nice to see you here on time today Miss Davies," she noticed, smiling at me. She walked around the whole room and then stopped in front of her desk, crossing her arms together.

She lifted her hand and pointed towards my head.

"Huh?" My voice full of confusion.

"Hat off please." I rolled my eyes and took my snapback off. I ran my hands through my hair trying to untangle the curls and get them under control. _Great._

The people around me filled the room with pointless banter. Silence is rare among them. I heard snippets of conversations ranging from the usual gossip to 'how hot the cheerleaders are'. _Typical._

The teacher shushed the class, trying to get them under control.

"As you know class, today we will be starting Guitar. I'll be teaching most of you, while the people I assigned yesterday will help their partners individually." Crap. That totally slipped my mind. Shit shit shit. I was partnered with ... _her. _I wasn't sure why this was such a big deal to me. I didn't even know her. This just added to all my confusion.

I felt eyes burning the side of my face and turned around to look for the intruder. All I saw was blue. I immediately turned back around like I was burned.

"Today, we will just be looking at the history of guitar, and at the end of class, we will be discussing how to sign out instruments," the teacher said in a monotone voice. She looked like she just woke up from the dead. Maybe she had one too many drinks last night. _Maybe._

The majority of the class was spent, well, doing exactly what she said. We learned about its background, where it originated from, its purpose, and all that jazz.

Every once in a while, I would get a tingly feeling in the side of my face, but I didn't turn around. I stayed focused on the teacher the whole time, watching her walk around and talk with her hands.

I had to admit that the curiosity was killing me. But I'm strong. I won't give in. Not now. Not _ever_.

I heard the teacher clear her throat and looked to see that she was standing at my desk. She gave a brief smile and continued on with what she was saying.

"Tomorrow, we will start learning how to _play_ the guitar. There is a limited supply of guitars available for sign out so there's not enough for all of you."

I rolled my eyes when I hear some students cheer.

"Those who are learning with me will be guaranteed a guitar to sign out, but as for the pairs, you will have to bring in your own. I'm sure your partner will have a guitar that you two can share. Please get together before class ends to discuss who's bringing in what." She finished off with a loud clap.

Chairs moved as people shuffled around the room.

I stayed in my seat as I watched the other partners get together. I looked down at my hands and studied them. There was a few scrapes here and there from yesterday. When I was rushing back to school on my skateboard during lunch, I took a huge dive. _Stupid rock_. That dumb fall made me later than I already was. I had a huge scrape on my right forearm along with matching ones on my knees.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't notice _she_ was standing by my desk. I looked up at her, waiting for her to say something.

She nervously tucked a blonde strand of hair behind her ear. "Uh, hi."

I looked away and started played with the bracelets on my wrists, gently twisting and turning them.

She grabbed a chair and sat down beside me. "So, um, you're my guitar partner." She stated, though it sounded more like a question to me.

I nodded my head slowly, my curls bouncing with the movement.

A few minutes passed by until she spoke again.

"... do you have a guitar we can share?" She asked looking at me.

My eyes stayed on my bracelets as I nodded again, slightly faster this time.

I heard her breathe out a sigh of relief. "Good, because I didn't have one and it would've been kinda hard learning how to play without a guitar, considering I couldn't even play the triangle. Oh god, that was terrible, but I promise I won't break your guitar or anything ..."

I smiled a bit remembering the day she broke the metal rod.

She continued to ramble off until I hear her stopped. I looked over to see her, head tilted, smiling at me. She's looking at me with a 'I caught you' look. Damnit, I think she saw my smile.

I turned away, again, and ran my fingers through my hair. Of course, my fingers was held hostage by my hair. I internally rolled my eyes. I extracted my fingers as my free hand searched for my snapback in my bag. I got it out and placed the hat backwards on my head, effectively taming my hair.

I looked back at her and found her watching me the entire time. I shifted my position on my seat and checked the clock. There was a few more minutes left till the bell rang. I think she noticed it, too.

"... so you'll bring your guitar tomorrow?" She tilted her head.

This time, I looked into her blue eyes, searching them. I wasn't sure how much time passed.

I took a deep breath, "Yeah."

And with that, I grabbed my stuff and walked out of the room as the bell rang.

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_**A/N:** Read & Review! Tell me anything._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I love reading your reviews, it inspires me to write more :) It's the weekend now so updates will be longer with all the free time I have to write. Tell me what you thought about this chapter. What you liked about the characters or what you don't like. Either is good because it might inspire some plot ideas and stuff.

**_Disclaimer: _**I don't own the show or characters.

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**Spencer's POV**

I sat here in the cafeteria with Kyla, listening to her talk about some skit she had to do for drama class.

I didn't bother scanning the cafeteria. I know she's not in here, she rarely is.

I thought back to yesterday. The one word she faintly spoke repeated over and over in my head, burning her voice into my memory. That was the first word she ever said _to me_. Her voice was raspy - that much I knew from hearing her talk to the teacher. Upon hearing her speak to me, I realized that it was much more noticeable up close.

I took off the crust on my sandwich and tossed it in the ziplock bag to throw away later. I heard Kyla ramble on about the different types of screams she mastered over the years. I swear this girl has too much free time on her hands.

I rolled my eyes, "All the drama teachers must _love_ you."

"They do as a matter of fact. I heard that your music teacher hates you. People were saying that she said you sucked." Kyla smiled innocently at me.

I rolled my eyes. How does this stuff get out so fast?

"She did _not_ say that! Okay, maybe it was _implied_ because she stuck me with a partner … but she doesn't _hate_ me. I bet she loves me even more for getting rid of that triangle of hers." I said pouting at her.

"I would hate to be your partner. Can you imagine? 'Sorry Miss, my guitar accidentally slipped out of my hand somehow and landed on my partner's head. They told me to tell you that they were gonna be away for a while'" Kyla joked, laughing at me. Wow, I'm glad to see that _someone_ has faith in me.

"Whatever. It's only 'cause you can't handle all this." I declared, pointing to my body.

The brunette chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "So who's your partner? I kinda feel bad for the guy."

"Actually, it's a girl. Her name's Ashley." I answered. Her name sounded so foreign on my tongue.

"Hmm, Ashley … Ashley… Ashley…" Kyla tapped her fingers on her chin. "Nope. Don't know an Ashley. Is she new here or something?"

_Right_. I forgot, Ashley likes to blend into the wall. How do people overlook someone like her?

"Nah, she's been here since freshmen year. She just doesn't get around much I guess…" I trailed off, thinking about why she preferred to be alone.

I finished my lunch and checked the time to make sure that I wasn't late for my next class. I had plenty of time left but I wanted to get there early.

"I'm gonna get going, I'll call you later and stuff." I grabbed my stuff and headed towards the Music room.

As I entered the room, I sighed, slightly disappointed that no one was here yet. That _Ashley_ wasn't yet.

I took my seat and pulled out a pencil. I leaned onto my elbow and started to lightly tap the pencil on my desk, trying to make time go by faster.

The clock must be frozen or something because it looked like no time has passed at all.

Getting tired, I scooted my chair back and laid my head on my desk.

I was just about to doze off when I heard someone walk in. I lifted my head towards the door and saw Ashley standing there frozen, mid-stride in her walk. Her eyes were on mine as she stood there nervously biting her lip. She looked like she was contemplating whether to stay or walk out the door again.

I decided to help her with the decision so I gave her a small wave and smile. This seemed to break her chain of thought because she resumed her walk into the classroom. She ducked her head and avoided eye contact with me as she made her way down the class aisle.

I gave a small pout that she didn't see. Why is she being like this?

She walked to her seat and took the guitar off her back, laying it gently against her desk. She sat down as she breathed out a puff of air.

I was just about to say hi when she pulled out her iPod and put in her earphones. She quickly selected a song and stuffed the iPod back in her pocket.

_Well_ then. I guess she's not in the mood to talk. I watched her lay her head down on her arms and get comfortable.

She didn't even try to acknowledge that I was in the room with her. Her arms shielded her eyes as music blared into her ears.

I sighed and sulked in my chair. After a few minutes, I was tired of her attempt to ignore me, so I grabbed my bag and sat at the desk next to hers. I laid my head in my hand as I openly gazed at her, looking over her curls, her AC/DC shirt, down to her red converse.

I noticed her feet were bouncing up and down - to the beat of the music I supposed. I looked at her guitar case, and saw a bunch of stickers on them, ranging from Spongebob to Garfield. I wondered if she was the type to watch cartoons on a Saturday morning.

I knew _I_ always was.

I returned my gaze to Ashley, and surprising, she was already looking at me. Her head was still down, but it was faced towards me. _At least she's not ignoring me anymore._

She stared innocently into my eyes, looking like a lost child. I wanted to reach out and ask her what's wrong, but I didn't want to break her from whatever trance she was in right now.

Being able to see her eyes up close, I noticed that there were gold specks in them. I also noticed how her eyes displayed everything she felt. They were so intense observing me, searching for my intentions.

At times, I would see her eyes brighten for a minute, as if discovering something, then go back to their calm chocolate tone.

The bell suddenly rang, jolting her from her seat and effectively waking her up from her trance. It looked like she realized what she had done and quickly turned her head towards the blackboard and away from me.

I internally groaned and turned my body to the front as the teacher walked in.

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**Ashley's POV**

I saw the teacher walk in and sighed in relief.

I didn't even realize I was staring at her before the bell rang. I had a constant urge to look over at the desk beside me and I gave in. I _gave_ in. But her eyes ... they were so blue, so clear, and full of life - full of _answers_. I closed my eyes and shook my head lightly. _No_.

I saw her around school several times over the 3 years I've been here. Never once have I felt like this. Never once have I been this affected by a person.

I tightened my hands into fists as I felt that urge again. I _can't_. I _won't._

Taking a few deep breaths, I relaxed my hands and smoothed them out on my jeans.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today we'll be doing hands on stuff with the guitar. I hope that those who have a partner brought one in." The teacher walked around the room, checking to see if the pairs brought in a guitar. When she walked by my desk, I pointed to the one on my desk. She nodded in agreement and continued her trip to the front of the room.

"Now listen carefully, the students who are learning with me will follow me to the other music room. The other room is bigger and has all the guitars in the storage room," she instructed, pointing down the hall.

I've been there once, it's _huge_. There's a grand piano and everything.

"The others will stay here and help their partners with the guitar. This way we won't be distracting you from your one-on-one learning."

My eyes widened. Wait, _what_? Is she even allowed to leave us alone?

The tingly feeling returns, and I _know_ that it's Spencer looking at me. I clenched my jaw and I leaned forward on my elbows.

"At the beginning of the day, I require one person from each pair to come by my office to pick up the lesson plan. The lessons are pretty straight forward so don't worry too much about it."

By now, I'm trying my best to not let my internal hyperventilating fit show on the outside.

"The guitar players will teach it to their partners and make sure they understand the concepts. If at anytime you're unsure of something, come down to the other music room and I'll clear it up for you, got it?" Some students nodded silently while others responded with a 'yeah'.

I sat in my chair, playing with my snapback as students made their way out of the room. I opened the clasp. Then I closed it. Open. Close. Open. Close.

I could hear Spencer shifting in her chair beside me. Maybe she was as uncomfortable with this idea as I was.

When the last student left, the teacher came back into our room and said, "Oh, one last thing. You're required to meet up after school everyday to get in some extra practice. The other students have the rental guitars to practice at home, but since you guys are sharing a guitar, you'll have to find some way to get together."

With that, she left the room.

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**A/N:**_ Read & Review! Leave feedback please :)_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **I've read the reviews and a lot of you like this Ashley. Nothing's gonna happen between Spencer and Ashley for a while. I want their relationship to progress naturally, taking in consideration of how this Ashley might react to stuff, so yeah. Tell me about what you thought of this chapter. Also, what do you think of this Spencer?

**_Disclaimer__:_** I don't own the show or characters.

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

I watched the remaining students in the room get together with their partner. I looked at Ashley and it was obvious that she wasn't moving anytime soon. She sat there playing with her hat, and if I didn't know any better, I would think she was trying to ignore me.

Taking matters into my own hands, I scooted my chair closer to her desk and cleared my throat, trying to get her attention.

Judging by the way her body froze up for a second, I was pretty sure she knew I was right beside her.

Despite me being there, she continued to play with the clasp on her hat. I rolled my eyes. _This girl_.

"Hey," I tapped her shoulder. "... Ashley?" I waited for some kind of response from her.

She stopped playing with her hat, silently telling me to continue.

"… do you want to get started now?" I asked with a slight attitude. _What?_. You can't blame me, I mean .. it's frustrating trying to get her attention.

She pursed her lips and nodded. I did a mental happy dance that she responded, though not verbally, to me.

Putting her hat aside, she took her guitar out of its case and gestured to one of the unoccupied class corners. The other three pairs were spread out in the room - one in each corner.

I followed her and sat down across from her, waiting for her to start. Her eyes darted everywhere across the room, avoiding my eyes at all cost.

"So … what did she say we had to do?" She asked quietly, her eyes focusing on the guitar in her lap.

I smiled a bit at her shyness. She always displayed this air of self-confidence whenever I saw her around school. You could tell she didn't care what others thought about her.

"Well, you have to tell me about the parts of a guitar." I explained, pointing to her guitar.

It looked like a light bulb went off in her head as she settled the guitar in her lap.

"Easy enough …" She licked her lips and cleared her throat, preparing herself to talk.

"Uh .. this here," she pointed to the largest part of the guitar, "is the body of the guitar. The circle in the middle of it is called the sound hole …" She started.

I watched her as one of her hands cradled her guitar, while the other pointed to different parts on the guitar. The information seemed to effortlessly spill out from her lips, like it was common knowledge to her. I observed her body language. She seemed comfortable talking about music.

Her eyes were looking over her own guitar, admiring it as she stated where the frets were, the name of each string, and what the pegs were for.

I could easily tell that playing guitar was her passion. She looked at peace, cradling the guitar in her lap while talking about its glory.

I didn't realize that she finished talking when she started playing with the pegs. Probably because I paid more attention to her hands and body than the guitar itself. _Probably_.

"So … yeah." She finished off. Her voice was raspier now than when she started talking.

I nodded my head in acknowledgement.

We quickly fell into a calm silence with no words spoken between us. I heard the distant voices of the other pairs talking about their instrument, but it wasn't as interesting as listening to the silence that surrounded the girl in front of me.

After a few minutes of quietness, I wanted to hear her voice again. I know, creepy right? But her voice was soothing to me.

"Well…that's a lot of things to break…" I quipped, trying to break the silence.

_No luck_. She was staring down at the guitar, her eyes communicating with it. I watched as her fingers twitched, her right hand hovering over the strings. The guitar was still in her lap and her left hands positioned on the frets.

She looked like she was ready to play, but something was stopping her. _M__e_.

She stayed like that for a few minutes before she quickly stood up and walked back to her desk, leaving me in her dust.

That was probably expected from her I supposed.

I studied her as she trudged back to her seat, putting her guitar back in case. Why is she like this? Is she like this to everyone? Well_,_ probably not because she never interacts with anyone. But if she _did_, would she treat them like this too?

I sighed and picked myself up and walked back to the desk next to hers.

She had her earphones in, iPod in her hands as she played with it. I rolled my eyes. I bet she does this so no one tries to talk to her. It probably works with everybody else but it's not gonna with me.

I stood up and sat in the desk in front of hers, straddling the chair so that I faced her. As usual, she ignored me.

I thought about ways to get her attention, but I settled on one.

I started talking nonsense, rambling on about ninja turtles and the apocalypse, while over exaggerating my hand movements. She probably couldn't hear me with her music playing in her ears, but I kept going and going.

She watched me talk with a 'what are you doing' look. I could hear her music leak out of her earphones, clueing me in that she increased the volume.

She observed me for a bit longer than looked away, probably thinking 'Out of sight, out of mind'.

I was getting tired of talking about nothing, so I looked around her desk for something to occupy myself with.

I saw her hat placed on her bag, so I grabbed it and inspected it. It was red and black, and had a 'parental advisory' logo on the front of it. Hmm, maybe she's a closeted badass.

I fiddled with the clasp until it was able to fit comfortably on my head. I smiled thinking that this was on Ashley's head not too long ago. I turned the hat around backwards, copying the way that Ashley usually wears it.

She probably noticed that I stopped talking because she returned her gaze to me.

I smiled innocently when she glared at me, looking from her hat on my head to my eyes. Her earphones were still in as she glared at me, so I did what I had to do, I _pouted_ at her. I gave a full-blown pout along with my puppy dog eyes that proved deadly when put together.

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

My hat and I have a very special relationship you see. We are basically _one_. It's a lifesaver to my hair, and in return, I treat it with the utmost premium care. So when I felt my hat-senses going wild, I looked at my bag to see if it was okay.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion when I discovered that it was missing. I scanned the ground around me to check if it fell but I couldn't find it anywhere. My heart beat picked up as I retraced my steps in my head. I was _sure _that I placed it on my bag.

On my way back up from the ground, I noticed an object on Spencer's head. Not just any object, but a hat. _My_ hat. I sighed in relief but then quickly glared at her for making me have a near panic attack.

She smiled at me like she didn't know what she did wrong. I continued to glare at her, then at my hat. Why isn't my hat flying off her head or something? It was bought for _my _head. Obviously, our bond wasn't as close as I thought it was.

Her reaction to my glaring caught me completely off guard. She _pouted_ at me. Yeah right, if I wasn't so good at pouting myself, I would've fell for that.

I scoffed and took my earphones out.

"What is _my_ hat doing on _your _head?" I asked her with as much venom I could gather.

She seemed to ponder this for a minute, tapping her finger on her chin. "Hmm, I don't know, why don't you ask _your_ hat?" She suggested with a teasing tone.

I rolled my eyes. The _nerve_ of this girl. "You know, I would, but we like to have our conversations _privately_. So if you could return it, that would be great." I exclaimed sarcastically, reaching for my hat.

She leaned away from my reach, making me almost topple over my desk.

"Not so fast," she said waving her finger at me, "you'll get it _after_ we're done with our lesson for the day."

My jaw dropped, "But-"

"Nope. After the lesson." She scolded.

I leaned back into my chair. "Fine." I puffed out, glaring at her.

I saw a smile break out on her face. I rolled my eyes. What's she smiling for?

"Now what? I already taught you all the guitar parts..." I stated, looking at my hat. Only 10 minutes till you'll be back on my head. I can do this.

"Right. Um...maybe you can quiz me? Make sure I know it and stuff." She suggested pointing to my guitar.

"Okay..." I removed my guitar from its case and laid it gently on the desk.

I supported the neck with my left hand while I situated myself so that I was hovering over it a bit.

"What's this called?" I said pointing to the soundbox.

"Uhhh ... the ... circle?" She guessed.

"Wrong. It's the soundbox. What are these called?" I pointed to the pegs.

"The ... um ..." She furrowed her eyebrows thinking about it.

My hands gestured in a waving motion, encouraging her to answer the question.

"I-I don't know..." she admitted looking down at her hands.

"They're called pegs.." I stressed.

"Right. Got it."

"So moving on, what are the pegs used for?" I questioned, touching the pegs.

I waited for an answer but never got one. I looked back at her to see her fiddling with her fingers.

I sighed and put the guitar back in its case, "Were you paying attention when I was teaching it to you?"

"Yeah.." she replied weakly.

"So why can't you answer any of the questions?" I wondered. I mean, she's bound to get one or two right but she got none of them.

".. sorry," she said quietly. She played with the strings on my guitar, running her fingers along it.

I was at a lost about what to do. I wanted to comfort her but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

I was thinking about why I couldn't do it when her voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Do you think we can meet at my house to review all of this again?" she asked carefully.

That caught me off guard. I forgot that we had to meet up after school. "Oh.. um, y-yeah sure." I said quickly.

She went to her desk and grabbed something from her bag. When she returned, she took my hand and started scribbling something on my palm.

I sat there silently, my mouth agape. Something was coursing through my body but I wasn't sure what.

She finished writing a while ago but she was still holding my hand.

"That's my address," she explained pointing to my palm, "Should we meet up at 5?"

I took my hand back and cradled it with my other, rubbing it as if I was soothing a burn.

"Uh, yeah, 5's good" I said furrowing my eyebrows.

Spencer went back to her desk to retrieve her belongings as the bell rang.

I sat in my seat for a while longer, inspecting my hand for any damage. What was that?

I shook my head to prevent any further questions from being asked and looked around the room to find it empty. I grabbed my bag to put on my shoulder and slung my guitar on my back. I walked towards the door and ran a hand through my hair when a thought hit me.

_She still has my hat._

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**A/N:**_ Read & Review!_

So next chapter, hopefully I'll be able to get in some stuff about Ashley's past through flashbacks and whatnot.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **I had a hard time trying to figure out how to do this chapter, but this was what I came up with. Feedback is appreciated, I'd love to know what you thought of this chapter. And for those of you that review every chapter, just know that you have a very special place in my heart :)

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own the characters or show.

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I skateboarded all the way home from school. To say that it was a hard task was an _understatement_. My guitar kept bobbing on my back, while my bag swayed up and down by my side. Oh, and we _can't_ forget about my hair. Every five seconds, the mess on my head would attack my face, effectively blocking my vision. _If only I had my hat._ I can't believe I forgot about that. Better yet, I can't believe _she_ didn't give it back to me herself!

I sighed in relief as I rolled into my driveway - in one piece might I add. I walked up the porch and noted that my mom's car wasn't there. She's probably still at work. At least I didn't have to put up with whatever speech of disappointment she prepared for the day.

I walked into the house and lugged everything up to my room. You should've seen the sight - I probably looked like the grudge walking up the stairs. My hair curtained my face, my guitar was slipping off my back while my messenger bag was dragged up the stairs, _plus_ my skateboard was held loosely in my other hand.

I reached my room and dropped everything onto the ground, except my guitar of course. You gotta treat these things with respect. You never know when musical instruments will come to life and take over, so it's useful to be on their good side.

I checked the time on my phone and realized that I still had 2 hours before I had to be at Spencer's house. I was nervous thinking about being alone with her. It was gonna be the first time in years since I've been over to someone's house. That fact didn't bother me, not really at least.

I liked being independent. There's no need to rely on anyone else except for yourself. You can't get hurt and you can't hurt others. It's as simple as that. Being able to be alone is a _strength_. You put one of the cheer bitches alone in a room and they'll drown in their own tears. They can't take it. _Why?_ Because they're too attached to their drones.

I've tried the whole 'making friends' thing once, but it didn't work out. People didn't genuinely care about who you are. They didn't bother to figure you out and learn about what makes you _you_. They were all just people with fake personalities looking to climb the ladder of popularity.

I felt all sweaty and sticky, so I opted for a shower. I stripped off my t-shirt and searched through my drawers for some clothes then walked to the bathroom.

After about 30 minutes, I exited the bathroom in my Spiderman boy shorts and black-laced bra. _What? _Spiderman is cool. I figured that I would get dressed later when the time to leave got closer.

Searching my room for something to do, I walked over to my drum set and settled myself on the stool. I picked up my drumsticks and twirled them around with my fingers, thinking of what song to play along to.

I couldn't make up my mind so I started to play a random beat. Playing the drums was different from the guitar. The drums were meant to be bashed on and loud, while the guitar was gentle and melodic. I would usually bang on the drums when I had anger to relieve, while I picked up the guitar to play out my thoughts.

I really do love my drum set. My dad and I picked it out together on my 12th birthday. He wouldn't settle for a mediocre drum set, he wanted the most expensive one for his princess.

Half an hour passed and my arms were feeling kinda sore. Seeing that I still had an hour left, I started to get ready. I walked into my closet and picked out some loose jeans and a sleeveless shirt of the Black Keys. I tugged on my jeans and secured a belt through it then put on my shirt. I looked in the mirror to check if the combination went well with each other.

I walked over to the single row shelf that covered an entire wall. This was _the _throne for my hats. There were snapbacks, fitteds, trucker hats, and beanies spread out on the shelf. Yeah, I'm a _little_ obsessed with hats. I walked along the wall, trying to pick one out, till I stopped and frowned. There was one spot that was unoccupied by a hat.

I sighed. _Don't worry, I'm coming for you. _ I picked up my Vancouver Grizzlies snapback and put it on backwards.

I stood in front of my skateboard rack and contemplated which one to take. _Now,_ do you see what I go through every morning? So many decisions to make, so many choices.

I checked the address on my hand and calculated that it was pretty far from my house. I chose my longboard instead because of comfort reasons. The skateboard didn't do long distances too well.

I jogged down the stairs with my longboard in hand and guitar on my back. I was about to leave the house when a voice rang out through the house.

"Ashley! Is that you?" My mom yelled. Ugh, when did _she _get home. I mentally prepared myself for whatever she had to say.

I saw her walk into the living room and give me a once-over.

"Hello Ashley. Going somewhere?" She questioned. Her voice was emotionless, something I was use to.

"Yeah, I'm going over to a fr-someone's house." I quickly corrected myself. Did I consider Spencer a friend? Yeah sure, we're partners and stuff … but friends? My mom's voice interrupted me.

"I see." She took in my outfit and said, "Pull up your pants, dear."

I rolled my eyes as she left the room. My pants are _not _ that low. They just hung off my hips a bit. It's nothing compared to what some guys do. I swear, _their_ pants are around their legs.

I left the house and dropped my longboard down. I looked down the street figuring out which way to go to her house. I had to go past the school, and down the road about 20 minutes. _Woah, that's a long ride._ I think I could find a shortcut through the trail or something.

* * *

I'm cruising down the trail right now. I got past the school without sustaining any injuries to myself or the guitar on my back.

I smiled as I saw my tree come up and decided to pay it a visit.

"Hey, tree." I greeted as I sat down facing it.

The leaves rustled a hello back.

"We have an emergency.." I whispered, my hand covering the side of my mouth. "Our friend has been kidnapped ... I'm sure you can sense which one."

I'm pretty sure I heard the tree gasp in response.

I looked around to check if anyone was listening in on our conversation. "We have a blonde suspect, about my height, holding our friend hostage..." I informed the tree. "The blonde was last seen in Music class with the victim. And if I say so myself, she was showing signs of violence towards him. I mean, she was _suffocating_ him for god's sake!" I declared jumping up from the ground.

I sighed and leaned my back against the tree.

"I miss him so much, tree. He's probably all alone and scared right now." I whimpered, "Who knows what kind of torture Spencer's putting him through."

I shook my head and took a deep breath. "No, I have to be strong._ For him_. I have to get him back."

I sat there with the tree discussing "Operation Take Down Blondie & Save My Hat". I know, it's lengthy, but that's not important. What's important is the _plan._

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

It's 5:15 and Ashley's still not here yet. You don't think she would ditch, would she? I mean, she doesn't look like a person that would do that.

My thoughts were interrupted by the door bell. I opened the door to find Ashley standing there with a flushed face glaring at me.

"Hey, come in." I greeted as I pushed the door open wider. She didn't reply to me. Instead, she walked right into my house, looking like she was scanning the area for something.

"So, I was thinking we could do this upstair?" I asked.

She looked up the stair case, narrowing her eyes. What's up with her?

"Come on, follow me." I told her, tugging on her arm. I led her into my room and gestured for her to put her longboard by my door.

Ashley remained standing in my door way with her arms crossed, shooting daggers at me.

"Um, you kinda need to be _in _the room in order to teach me.." I teased, motioning my hands for her to enter.

I watched her jaw clench, "I believe you have something of mine."

"Oh, right, _that. _Just give me a second." I walked to my drawer and pulled out her hat. "Here." I held it out for her to take.

She seemed kinda shocked to see me give it up so easily. I didn't want her to hate me. I mean, have you _seen_ the way she treated her hats? I didn't to be responsible for her heart attack by keeping it away from her.

She grabbed her hat and inspected it, looking for any damage I may have inflicted on it.

I rolled my eyes. "You know, I'm standing right here. If you want, we can go to trial right now. I plead innocent to whatever you're gonna claim I did to your hat." I said, putting my hands up.

"Um, no. Actually the hat's ... fine." She sighed and clasped the hat through one of her jean loops.

"So ... can we get started now?" I asked her.

She gave me a small smile, which I returned. "Yeah."

* * *

After about an hour and a half, I successfully learned all the parts of the guitar. Ashley left a while ago on her longboard.

I'm sitting on my bed right now, thinking about the last two hours. She still didn't talk very much to me. She just taught me what she had to and didn't really say much else. I didn't mind it though.

I don't know, but there's something about her that draws me in. Not just her looks, but her personality, the way she is.

It's frustrating sometimes trying to figure out what she's thinking. But I guess if it was easy then there would be no point to it right? It wouldn't mean anything.

It's hard for me to get her attention, but right now, it seems like she has _all _my attention - and I don't mind it one bit.

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I walked into my room and plopped myself on my bed. It's been a long, exhausting day.

It's been such a long time since I've actually interacted with anyone else - not that I wanted to. Spending time with Spencer scared me. It made me want to run in the opposite direction, as far away from her as possible. She's _different_. And I don't know if I liked that.

I'm gonna have to spend 2 months with her, everyday. Maybe I can ignore her like I've been doing. Only talk when I absolutely have to, and avoid eye contact. _Yeah_, that'll work.

I think back to Spencer's house. I was pleasantly shocked that Spencer gave me my hat back without a fight. I mean, considering how she acted in class, I was prepared for a brawl of some sort.

I bet you're wondering what my plan was. Well, it was initially to go all ninja on her, swipe my hat, and high tail it out of there. If that didn't work, I was gonna take something of hers to make it even - a teddy bear or something.

I ran a hand through my unruly curls and sighed in contentment. I finally had all my hats back.

I unclasped the hat that Spencer gave back and smiled at it. It was in perfect condition - no dirt smudges or dents. I looked on the inside of the hat to examine it and noticed something. I furrowed my eyebrows and brought it up closer for inspection. There on the band was Spencer's hand writing.

_Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down. - S.C._

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**A/N:** So how do you think Ashley will react to what Spencer wrote?


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **So here's another update. I was feeling really uninspired today, but then I read Ambeezy's and ItsMeCharlee's review for the last chapter and it got me out of my funk, so thanks guys. I really do appreciate all the feedback you give me :)

Ambeezy: The girls' personalities aren't really based on _one_ person, but more like bits and pieces from some of my friends. Ashley's tree-talking habit was made up though, so yeah. I just thought it went well with the Ashley I had in mind.

_**Disclaimer:**_I don't own the show or the characters.

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

My mom dropped me off at school and waved me goodbye. I was still in a good mood from yesterday and it definitely showed, judging by the way Madison was looking at me.

"Did you get laid last night?" Madison asked bluntly, her eyes sweeping my body.

"What? No! Why would you even think that?" I shrieked, quickly walking to my locker.

"Because you, chica .." She pointed a finger at me, "… have some weird glow on you."

I rolled my eyes. "Just because I'm glowing doesn't mean that I had sex."

Madison was very experienced in the sex department. I wouldn't call her a slut because, well, she's my friend and I kinda liked having her around. But truth was, she got around - a lot.

"People don't glow that bright if they didn't have sex, hell, people don't glow _unless_ they had sex." Madison stated with a 'duh' look on her face.

I opened my lockers and got out my books, trying to waste time so the Latina would drop the subject.

Oh god if I looked like this because I spent a small part of my day with Ashley yesterday, I would be the fucking sun if I actually spent a whole day with her as friends.

I closed my locker and turned back around to Madison. Her eyebrows were raised and a smirk was in place.

"Shut up, I _did not_ have sex last night and that is not for up for argument. Now come on, we're gonna be late for our first class." I linked arms with Madison and dragged her down the hall.

* * *

I just finished my lunch and I'm now making my way to Music class. After Madison and I went to our first class together, she wouldn't let up on the sex talk. It felt like that awkward sex talk your parents give you. I shivered in disgust at the memory.

I walked into the room and saw that I wasn't the only one in there. Two of the other pairs already arrived and the teacher was writing on the board.

"This won't take too long. From now on, the other students who are working with me will go directly to the other music room, as will I. The 4 pairs will still come to this class and work on the lesson I planned for you. Don't think that you can fool around because there will be teachers checking in on you." She said pointing at Valerie and Melissa. She picked up her suitcase and walked out of the room.

As the teacher left the class, Ashley walked in. She stomped all the way towards me and left her guitar against a desk. I tried to smile at her but all that got me was a scowl.

"What the fuck is this!?" She nearly shrieked, pulling out the hat I returned the day before. I was confused for a second until she showed me the band on the inside of the hat.

_Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down. - S.C. _

Oh.

I looked down towards my hands. "Uh, I kinda wrote that during last period yesterday ..." I explained.

I couldn't help myself. I was in Philosophy class and they were talking about the mysteries of life. _Ashley_ was a mystery. According to my teacher, a mystery was something that was difficult to understand and explain. _Yup, just like Ashley._ I was thinking about how she isolated herself to the point that she didn't crave contact with anyone else. But then I got to thinking to _why_ she even wanted to isolate herself in the first place. The curiosity overpowered my brain which led me to ask my teacher one question: 'Why would anyone _choose_ to be alone?'. His answer was simply, "It doesn't matter if they choose to be alone, just know that no one _wants_ to be alone'.

"I don't care _when _you wrote it! I only care that you wrote something in the first place!" She fumed.

Woah, I didn't think she'd get this upset over what I wrote. I was just trying to tell her that I wanted to be her friend, that I wanted to get to know her.

I took a deep breath. "I was just try-"

"You know what? Just don't write on any of my hats again." She grumbled. She grabbed her guitar and walked to the corner.

I followed her and took a seat in front of her.

"Look I'm really sorry about what I wrote ... I didn't think it would upset you so much." I apologized, looking at her anger-clouded eyes.

"I already told you. I don't give a damn about _what_ you wrote. I care that you even _wrote_ on it." She gritted through her teeth.

She didn't seem to acknowledge _what_ I wrote, but continued to mumble on about the fact that I vandalized her hat. I didn't know if she ignored the message on purpose or if she just didn't understand it.

"Wait a minute, did you even read it?" I asked her. There was no way that she didn't read that. It was kinda hard to miss.

Her eyes looked away as she clenched her fists. "It. Doesn't. Matter. What. You. Wrote. That's the last time I'm saying it," she growled.

"What I wrote was a message. You know for a fact that it matters because it means that someone might possibly want to be around you." I informed her.

She sat there glaring at me.

My eyes narrowed at her in confusion. "I don't know why you won't let anyone in. I'm _trying _here but you won't let me budge." I accused her, letting my thoughts out.

Her eyebrows scrunched together, looking like she was taken back by what I said.

She quickly composed herself and looked me right in my eyes. "Look _Spencer_, you don't know anything about me so don't go around acting like you do. I don't know what your motive was with writing that on my hat, but it means _nothing_ to me. Got it?" She fumed.

"Just give me a goddamn chance, Ashley! I don't know where you got the idea that being friends with someone was so horrible or how being alone beats having someone to lean on." I shot out.

I saw something flash in her eyes then quickly disappear - _guilt_.

"You know what, I've had enough of this," she mumbled as she grabbed her stuff and headed for the door.

_Oh no you're not._

I quickly ran after her and grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face me.

She didn't say anything and just stood still. I sighed, running my other hand through my hair.

"I meant what I wrote. I _will_ break down your walls. One way or another, no matter how long it takes." I promised, looking directly into her eyes.

Her brown eyes softened for a few seconds before clouds of fear and anger covered them up.

She clenched her jaw and removed my hand, looking like it hurt her to touch me. She then turned around and walked out the door.

* * *

It was 6:00 pm and I already knew why Ashley didn't show up. After today, it wasn't so much of a surprise.

Deciding to get some fresh air, I grabbed a sweater and walked out the front door. I noticed it was a bit chilly, with a small breeze blowing through the air.

I continued to walk down my porch when the sight I saw stopped me in my tracks. My jaw dropped as I squinted my eyes.

Ashley sat there faced towards the tree on my front lawn, her back to me, with the guitar by her side.

I can't believe she actually came.

I carefully made my way over to her, acting like I was walking on ice - which I kind of was. One step in the wrong direction and I'll fall right through before I even get to know the _real _her.

I sat down beside her, and started pulling grass from the ground. It was a nervous habit.

"Hey ..." I said quietly, taking in her appearance. Her clothes were wrinkled and clung to her body. "...How long have you been out here?"

_No answer._ She sat there in silence, playing with the grass. I watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath.

"This doesn't mean anything ..." She said weakly, focusing her eyes on the tree in front of her, "... I'm just here to teach you today's lesson," she whispered. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself than me.

I used two of my fingers to turn her face towards me so that I could see her eyes.

I dropped my hand and nodded my head, giving her a small smile. "You have my full attention."

* * *

**A/N: **Tell me what you thought about this chapter. What you liked, what you didn't like, what you want to see happen between them. Whatever you feel like spilling, please do.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Sorry for not updating in a while. I was swarmed with projects and essays for school. Anyway, here's an extra long update for you guys. So I have a new idea for another story and I've already written the first chapter. I was wondering if you wanted to see the other story too, or just wait till after this story was finished. Either way, I'll probably be working on both stories depending on what I feel like writing. As usual, tell me what you thought about this chapter. All feedback is appreciated.

_**Disclaimer:**_I don't own the show or characters.

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**Ashley's POV**

The wind breezed through the air making the leaves rustle. I'm sitting under my tree right now, if you were wondering.

"You gotta help me tree. I don't know what to do about this," I pleaded.

The tree stayed silent, despite the wind blowing at it, as if giving myself a chance to give details.

"I've known her for what .. a week? And she gets me to do something like that. I just can't explain what it is about her you know? She's just .. different," I thought out loud.

"Can't believe I pulled that shit on Friday showing up at her house," I mumbled, "Fuck." I laid down on the grass and looked up at the sky. The sky was filled with oddly shaped clouds that resembled disfigured animals and objects.

I laid there quietly, thinking about a certain blonde. There's a reason I don't have friends, you know? It's not like I woke up one day and thought that I should rule out making friends. I had 'friends' before but it was so .. disappointing. I mean, people talk about how awesome having a lot of friends is, but when I got into that scene, I couldn't find anything worth staying for.

"You're really quiet today, tree. Something bothering you?" I asked in concern. Us tree huggers have to care for our trees and keep them happy. I think I'm doing a bang up job so far.

In that instance, a leaf fell down and landed on my chest. I picked it up and examined it as a flashback hit me.

_"Daddy!" A 10 year old Ashley screeched running into her dad's arms._

_"Hey princess, happy birthday!" He exclaimed, picking his daughter up and spinning her around. Birthdays were always a special occasion between the young brunette and her father. Ashley's mom never did partake in these days and only gave her a simple 'Happy Birthday' in the morning._

_"What are we doing today, Dad? Can we go see a movie? OH! And can we have cake, too?" She excited rambled on about all the things they could do today._

_Raife chuckled at his daughter's eagerness and put a finger against his lips, signalling her to quiet down. "I have a very special place I want to take you. After that, we can go do all those things you said. How does that sound?"_

_Ashley nodded happily and held onto her dad's hand as he led the way._

_They ended up in a large field that overlooked a lake. There were beautiful flowers that bordered the path to the lake, showing people the way to the water. Ashley's dad led them down the path and to the shore. Along the way, the 10 year old had accumulated a decently sized collection of flowers that she waved around to show off._

_"Daddy, are we done walking yet? I'm tired." The brunette pulled out a pout that instantly melted her father._

_"We're almost there, sweetheart. How about I give you a piggy-back ride?" He bent down to his daughter's height and allowed her to climb on._

_Raife walked about half a mile before he came to a stop in front of a tall, leafy tree. _

_Ashley got off of her dad and looked at him confused. "What are we doing here?"_

_"We're here to have our father-daughter bonding time. Doesn't that sound exciting?" Her father gave a toothy grin._

_The young brunette smiled back at her dad's enthusiasm and nodded. They both settled down under the tree, facing each other._

_The pair spent the afternoon joking around with each other and sharing secrets. The brunette laughed at every single one of her father's jokes and he did the same for her. Raife told her stories about his teenage years - all the pranks he pulled and all his greatest moments._

_After a while, they both laid down on the grass with their hands behind their head._

_"Hey Dad?" Ashley broke the silence._

_"Yeah, princess?"_

_"Why doesn't mommy love me?" The young brunette asked quietly._

_Raife looked at his fragile daughter and collected her into his arms. __"Your mother does love you, Ashley. She's just busy with work. Don't ever think otherwise."_

_"Why doesn't she ever come with us on my birthday?" Ashley whimpered and curled into her father._

_"Don't worry, princess. Whether she's here or not, know that she will always love you." _

_It was relatively quiet after that until Raife sat up causing the brunette to stumble off of him._

_"You wanna know a secret?" Her father asked her._

_Ashley's eyes lit up and she furiously nodded her head, forgetting about what made her upset a few moments ago. "Yes!"_

_Raife leaned in and whispered, "The trees ... they talk."_

_The 10 year old tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"_

_"The trees. They talk." He said louder, enunciating each word._

_Ashley slowly nodded her head, trying to let her father's words sink in. Raife took the opportunity to confide in his daughter._

_He pointed to the tree they were under and said, "You see this tree right here?" Ashley nodded. "It can talk." He smiled at his daughter's face full of confusion._

_"I don't hear anything.."_

_"Listen carefully. Only those that are compatible with the tree can hear the message they are trying to pass on." _

_"Okay .." The brunette eyed the tree suspiciously as her father watched in amusement._

_"Princess, you have to talk to the tree first," he pointed out, smirking at his daughter._

_The brunette rolled her eyes. "Hi."_

_"You call that a conversation starter?" Her father scoffed. "Here, watch me."_

_Her father faced the tree and crossed his legs._

_"Hey tree, how's your day going so far?" Raife asked with enthusiasm. _

_Ashley watched her dad with amusement as he carried a one sided conversation with a tree. A _tree_. If anytime was a good time to alert the medics, it would be now._

_"..and that's how you do it." Raife said as he turned back to his daughter._

_The young brunette giggled. "I didn't hear anything but _your_ voice. It sounded like you were talking to yourself."_

_"Fine. Don't believe me," her father huffed and crossed his arms._

_Ashley crawled towards her dad and pulled his arms apart, laughing at his attempts to keep them crossed._

_"No daddy, I do believe you. Maybe this just isn't the tree for me," the 10 year old said._

_Raife smiled at her daughter and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. _

_"Okay sweetie, just know that you can tell these trees anything and they will help you. 24/7." _

_Ashley nodded in acknowledgement as she looked at the tree next to them._

I sat up and looked at my tree. It was very similar to the tree my dad showed me. It was fairly tall, and provided a nice cool shade.

"I just realized that you don't have a name." I said randomly, leaning on my elbow. Wow, 3 years and I haven't named it yet.. That has to be some type of record.

"So, what kind of name do you want?" I thought about all the potential names it could have when a thought hit me.

"WAIT A MINUTE. I don't even know if your a boy or a girl!" I jumped up and walked around the tree looking for some clue to its gender. _No luck._

"I always imagined you as a guy so why don't we go with that?" I suggested and sat down, coming up with a variety of names.

"Jamie, Riley, Jesse, Cameron.." I listed off a whole bunch of names, "..Jordan, Taylor, Sam." I stopped as another leaf fell in front of me.

"Sam? You like that?"

The leaves rustled, signally a yes.

"Then it's settled." I smiled in contentment. "I'm gonna get going, see you later ... Sam."

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

Class just started and Ashley hasn't arrived yet. It probably takes her a while to get her guitar.

I looked at the empty chair in front of me - Ashley's seat. There were two chairs set up in each corner of the room for each pair to practice in. The other seats were already occupied by their righteous owners as they talked among themselves. The teachers don't check up on us much, maybe once or twice at the beginning and end of class, but no more than that.

A pair of legs came into my view and my gaze travelled up to meet Ashley's eyes.

I smiled at her, hoping to get one back. Instead, she cleared her throat and took her guitar out of its case.

"What are we learning today?" I asked, trying to meet her eyes. She never held eye contact, except for that one time before class.

I heard her sigh. "Crap. I forgot to get the lesson plan." She grumbled as she took her hat off and ran a hand through her hair. "I'll just go get it now." She said as she walked towards the door.

"Wait! I'll come with you." I ran to catch up with her.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

We walked down the hallway and headed to the teacher's office. Ashley was trailing behind me as I walked far in front of her.

"Why are you walking so slow?" I questioned, motioning my hands for her to hurry up.

She stopped walking and replied "Why are you walking so _fast_?"

"I'm not. You're the slowpoke here so move your butt." I declared, pointing my finger in the direction of the office.

She narrowed her eyes and resumed walking - _slower_ than before.

I shook my head and placed my hands on my hips, scolding her from a distance.

She continued to walk at her turtle pace, looking like she was actually enjoying this.

"We don't have all day, Ashley." I said pointing to my wrist.

What I said didn't affect her at all, in fact, it seemed like she slowed down her walk even more - if that was possible. Her steps were short and her legs moved in slow motion.

I rolled my eyes and walked towards her. I set myself up behind her and placed my hands on her shoulder, pushing her to walk. She didn't walk any faster so I pushed her harder, hoping help her to move along. Nothing. Damn she's strong. She's still barely walking, acting like all my pushing didn't affect her at all. I took a deep breath and with one last try, I put all the strength I had into pushing her.

"Umph!" Ashley fell forward and landed on the ground. "Ughh, fuck," she groaned.

"Shit, are you okay?" I asked, rushing to her side. I scanned her body for any damage and sighed in relief when I found none.

"Yeah, I'm peachy," she said sarcastically, glaring at me. "I feel like a bag of fucking rainbows," she mumbled as she sat up.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." I apologized as I tried to help her up.

She closed her eyes and shook her head at my offer.

"Come on, get up."

She shook her head once again and crossed her arms.

"Ashley," I warned her.

She looked at me and then proceeded to sprawl herself on the ground like a starfish, closing her eyes.

"Ashley. Get up!" I nudged her with my foot. She stayed sprawled on her back with her eyes closed. If I was a passerby, I would think that she's dead or something by the lack of movement.

Getting fed up with her antics, I walked over to her feet and lowered myself. Quickly, I grabbed one of them and started dragging her toward the office.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" She shrieked as she opened her eyes to me dragging her by her right foot.

"We're going to get the lesson plan." I informed, holding a tighter grip around her ankle.

"Well, no shit Sherlock," she growled, "Do you mind letting me go!?"

I stopped and looked at her. "Are you gonna walk like a normal person?"

She glared at me, so I resumed dragging her down the hall.

She attempted to shake me off using her left foot to remove my hand.

"FINE!" She yelled after all her failed attempts.

I dropped her foot with a thud and let out a breath. Dragging her was hard work.

I looked back at her as I tried to regulate my breathing. She was trying to get up, but she kept falling down. I could tell she was growing frustrated by the way she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, walking over to her.

"I'm fine," she snapped. The brunette tried to stand up, but once again, she fell back down.

I held out my hand for her to grab onto. She looked at it, then at me, before grabbing on for me to pull her up.

As soon as she stood up, she immediately tumbled into my arms.

"Shit," she groaned, looking at her ankle.

I struggled to keep her up so I sat her back down on the ground.

"Let me take a look." I suggested, pointing to her ankle.

"No."

I gave her a look that said 'it wasn't a question'. She looked away as I rolled up her jeans to look at her ankle. I untied her shoelaces to remove her shoe when her hand stopped me.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked.

"Taking off your shoes. I can't see your ankle with these high tops on." I said, taking her converse off and putting it aside.

I laid her foot onto my lap as I inspected her ankle. It was swelling and had a pink tint to it. I rotated it to see its range of motion but didn't get far as Ashley slapped my hand away.

"Ow! Don't do that again," she whimpered. She pulled her ankle into her body and cradled it.

"I think you have a sprained ankle. We should probably go see the nurse." I suggested.

"No! I'm not going." She quickly put her shoe back on and stood up, balancing on one foot. "Let's just go get the lesson and return to class."

She started to trudge away, awkwardly hopping on one leg.

"You really shouldn't do-"

"Fuck!" The brunette wailed as she fell down. She groaned and crawled into a fetal position.

I ran to her side and placed a hand to her back, rubbing it gently. "I'll go get the lesson and come back really quickly, okay? Just .. stay."

I sprinted down the hall, into the office, and grabbed the folder with our names on it. I was lucky that the door was unlocked otherwise this would've taken a whole lot longer.

I ran back to Ashley to find her in the same position as I left her. I could hear her softly whimpering under her breath.

"Come on, let's go back to class." I cooed as I pulled her up, careful not to injure her any further. I slung one of her arms over my shoulder and wrapped my arm around her waist. I could've sworn I heard her gasp at the contact.

We started walking back to class, but every once in a while, Ashley would stumble and almost take me down with her. I don't know how a girl that small can be so heavy. As expected, the walk back was full of groaning and complaints from Ashley.

I put her in her chair and sat in my own.

"How are you feeling now?" I asked.

I got a groan in response.

I took the time to look through the folder to see what today's lesson was.

"This is all your fault," she announced.

"What? It is not. If you had just walked like a normal person, this all wouldn't have happened," I pointed out.

"Please, don't even try to deny it. You know that this," she pointed to her ankle, "was all your doing."

I looked at her ankle and sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry, okay?"

She looked at me, judging how sincere my apology was. I think she was satisfied because she moved on to ask me a question.

"What's today's lesson?"

"You have to teach me 'chords'. Whatever those are." I informed her while looking at the clock. "I don't think we'll have time to start it though, the bell's gonna go off soon."

She glanced to the clock to confirm herself and started to pack up her guitar. After a few minutes, I heard her silently curse.

"Damnit," she said under her breath.

"What?"

"I have a sprained ankle," she stated like she just realized it.

"Yeah, I was kinda there .." I replied looking at her strangely.

"No, I have a sprained _ankle,_" she repeated, ".. and I skateboard home .. and pretty much everywhere else."

"Oh." I forgot about that.

She sat back down in her chair, furrowing her eyebrows.

I felt really bad for hurting her, so I did what I had to in order to relieve the guilt.

"I'll drive you.." I said, leaving the sentence hanging.

She looked up at me and said, "What?"

"I said I'll drive you. Either, home or my house."

"Your house?" She asked looking confused.

"Yeah, to learn and practice the lesson."

"Right .."

"We should probably go to my house right away because we have a lot to catch up on." I suggested.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." She stammered out. I took in her appearance and she looked agitated as she bounced her good leg up and down.

I put my hand on her thigh to stop the bouncing. "I'll see you in front of the parking lot after school, kay?"

She silently nodded and adjusted her snapback.

"I'm gonna go now," she said suddenly, grabbing her guitar.

"Wait!" she turned around to look at me, "You can barely walk, do you really think you should carry that big guitar around with you?"

"Yeah, why not?" She shrugged.

"What if you fall again?"

"I won't."

"I'll lock it up in my car so you don't have to carry it around." I offered.

"Hell no. You got my hat once, I'm not giving you my guitar!" She turned around to walk out the door and almost fell over her own feet. She caught herself on one of the desks before she hit the ground. She turned around and held her guitar out for me to take.

"If I find anything written on this, I will kill you," she warned as she limped out the door.

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**A/N:** _Reviews = Inspiration = More Updates!_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Another update for you. Thanks for all the reviews, I really love reading them because it makes me feel connected with you guys. Let me know what you think about this chapter. All feedback is appreciated.

**_Disclaimer:_ **I don't own the show or characters.

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I limped my way out of my last class as the school bell rang, signalling the end of the day. I went to my locker to pick up my skateboard and got a few books I needed for homework.

I slowly made my way out to the parking lot where I had to meet Spencer. This messed up ankle made the journey there 10 times longer than it should've been. Oh well, a few extra minutes won't kill her, considering that this was all her fault.

Just as I walked into the parking lot, a black car honked and drove up to me. I watched as Spencer got out and walked to the passenger side, opening the door for me.

I got in with a little difficulty and adjusted myself, trying to get comfortable in the leather seat. I hated cars. They were all stuffy and I felt like I was boxed in - which was _not_ a good thing for a claustrophobic. The few trips I've had in my mom's car made every driving experience after that a nightmare. I don't even know how she got her license. She probably bought herself one or bribed the tester. The door slam broke me out of my thoughts as I watched Spencer put the car into drive.

"Hey," she said out of breath, "Does your ankle feel any better?"

"Not really .. as a matter of fact, it feels worse."

"I'm sorry, I feel really bad about it," the blonde apologized.

"Well, you should." I mumbled.

I looked at my skateboard in my lap and spun one of its wheels. Damn, I won't be riding a skateboard for however long it takes for this to heal. And that means I can't visit Sam during lunch so then he'll get mad at me for ditching him which will lead him to hold a grudge against me and the next thing I know … he could up-root and move to a park on the other side of the country! And to think I just named him, too!

I sat there sulking about Sam when I heard Spencer's voice.

"You'll be okay, Ashley. It'll only take a month for your ankle to heal and then you'll be in tiptop shape to ride your skateboard," she enthused, smiling at me.

I looked at my hands and replied quietly. "Yeah, I hope so." _Have faith in me Sam._

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

The ride to my house was relatively quiet. I stole a lot of glances at her, but at times, I would catch her stealing glances at me. Of course, she would shoot her eyes out her window immediately, but I'll take what I can get.

I parked my car in my driveway and ran over to Ashley's side to help her out.

She pushed my hands away when I reached in to help her. "I got it," she said.

"No, you're gonna trip and fall."

"I _said_ I got it."

I ignored her and latched onto her forearms to pull her out. I successfully got her out of the car and helped her into my house.

"So you go up to my room and I'm gonna go grab your guitar from the car." I told her as I walked back out the door.

I opened the trunk, got her guitar, and went back inside the house. When I got in, I saw Ashley sitting on the bottom of the staircase, playing with her hands. I walked around her and started up the stair case, hoping that she would get the hint to follow. Glancing back, I found her sitting, looking up at me.

"Aren't you gonna come?" I asked.

"Inedyohelp," she mumbled.

I tilted my head. "What?"

"I need your help," she repeated slightly louder, looking down at her feet.

I smiled and replied, "Just give me a second to drop this off in my room." I went to my room and leaned the guitar again the wall. By the time I returned to Ashley, she was standing on her good foot and was holding onto the railing.

I stood beside her and linked my arm around her waist. "Put your arm around my shoulder," I instructed.

She hesitantly put her arm around me and I instantly felt how stiff and tense she was. Slowly, we made our way up the stairs with her having to hop up one step at a time.

Entering my room, I set her down on my bed and sat across from her. I watched as she started to play with her sock, tugging and twisting the cloth.

"So, do you want to do the lesson now or .." I asked trailing off.

She glanced at me then scanned my room "Let me see the folder first. You said we were learning chords right?"

I nodded and handed her the folder from my bag. I observed her as she flipped through pages that showed different diagrams. I bet you my right hand that she knows what all of them mean. I sure know that I don't.

"Can you get my guitar?" she asked pointing at her instrument across the room.

I walked over and took the guitar out of its case. I started walking back to Ashley and noticed that she was staring intently at me and the instrument. Like she was waiting for me to make a mistake - like drop it. Man, she is _really_ protective of her stuff. I loosened my grip on it and held it like it was a newborn baby, which seemed to satisfy Ashley because she gave a small nod of approval.

"Here." I handed the guitar over to her as I sat down.

She happily took the guitar into her lap and I could see a small smile tugging at her lips. She strummed it once and made a funny face at it. Ashley then started to tune the guitar by ear. I was impressed to say the least. This was really the first time that I've heard her actually _play_ the guitar in some way or form. All of our past lessons have been on how to read notes and stuff that didn't involve playing the instrument.

When she was satisfied with how the guitar sounded, she looked up at me and caught me watching her.

She cleared her throat and said, "We can start now."

I nodded, signalling for her to start the lesson.

"So today I'm gonna teach you," she looked over at the folder, "four chords. The first one is the C chord."

She positioned her fingers over the strings and strummed, creating a bright sound. I scooted closer to her in order to get a better view of how her fingers were positioned.

"Basically, you place your fingers over the strings like this, apply pressure and strum." She demonstrated again.

I watched her fingers carefully and payed close attention to which finger belonged to which string.

"Your fingers might hurt the first few times, but you'll get use to it over time," she explained, wiggling her fingers.

She moved away from me a bit and handed me the guitar.

"Wait, what? I'm suppose to _play _it?" I asked horrified. Have you _seen_ what I did to that poor triangle? I'm not taking that risk again.

"Yeah. That's kinda the point of learning the lesson," she answered like it was obvious.

I hesitantly took the guitar and positioned it on my lap. It felt so unnatural in my arms, like I wasn't meant to play it - or any instrument for that matter.

I looked at her and bit my lip. "Are you sure about this?" I asked, giving her a chance to take it back.

She looked kinda nervous watching me. "Uh, yeah. Just ... don't drop it," she said emphasizing the last part.

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I was really scared about Spencer with my guitar. I was already gonna lose Sam due to my stupid ankle but I can't lose my guitar, too. I would _die._ This was my dad's guitar that he passed down to me, and beside my hats, this beauty is my prized possession.

"Gee thanks, I never figured not to drop it," she deadpanned.

I rolled my eyes. "Put your fingers in the position I showed you," I instructed. I watched her fingers hover over the strings, not sure where to settle.

"Uh, can you help me?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

I positioned my fingers in the air, hoping she would understand how they corresponded with the strings.

"That doesn't help, Ashley."

I sighed and moved closer to her. The bed dipped as I sat right in front of her. She moved around, trying to adjust to the unbalanced bed.

My breath hitched when her knees rested against mine. She didn't bother to move away and I couldn't because I was too distracted by the sudden rush in my body. I looked at our connected knees and furrowed my eyebrows. What was going on? I couldn't even move myself away from her, no matter how hard my mind was screaming for me to do so.

I glanced back up at her to see her hand motioning for me to show her.

I gulped and used my hand to guide her fingers over the correct strings. I quickly retracted my hands into my lap and fidgeted with them.

"Um ... you just do that and .. uh .. strum." I stuttered out. My mind was racing, making it hard to put together a sentence. God dammit, why can't I move?

I think she noticed my discomfort because she moved away from me, leaving a good distance between us. _Thank god._

I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself the best I could. If she saw the impact she had on me, she sure didn't show it because she continued to strum away on the guitar.

"You're doing it wrong." I informed her.

"How?"

"That buzzing sound you hear is because you're not pressing down hard enough. Fret the strings harder and then strum." I suggested, clenching my fingers for emphasis.

She pouted and brought her hand up. "But my fingers hurt."

I gave a small smile at her childish behaviour. I bet she was a cute kid when she was younger. One that could pull a pout that no one could resist, and have adorable chubby cheeks that grandmas and aunts consistently pinched.

"Keep practicing. You'll get calluses and then you won't feel a thing." I said, showing her my fingertips. I take pride in them because I've had them forever and because my dad has them too.

She unexpectedly took my hand and started caressing my fingertips. My mouth gaped slightly as shocks ran through my body. I glanced between the blonde and our hands, trying to figure out the reason for it. Maybe I'm just sick with the flu .. or maybe it's this sprained ankle.

I watched her as she grazed her fingers over mine, and then delicately trace the outline of my palm.

She dropped my hand and puffed out, "If my calluses don't make the pain go away, I'm hunting you down."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Like you could find me."

"Oh trust me, I _will_ find you," she remarked and resumed strumming the guitar.

That statement silenced me as I watched the blonde in front of me fumble with her fingers.

_She's the first person in my life that wanted to look for me._

* * *

**A/N:** _What do you think will happen? Will Ashley let Spencer in or hide from her?__  
_

_Read & Review!_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Another update for you today. It's all from Ashley's POV so enjoy :) I suggest you listen to the 'Stop and stare acoustic cover by Josie' on youtube (just search it up) while reading this chapter. Please tell me what you thought about this chapter. All the feedback really helps me write better and it helps me develop the story. Thanks to all of you who review on a regular basis, you're awesome :)

**_Disclaimer:_ **I don't own the show or characters.

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I hate my damn ankle so much right now. It was lunch time and I had no fucking clue where to go because I can't ride my skateboard to the trail. Damnit Spencer.

You might be wondering how I got to school since I couldn't skateboard. Well, Spencer kindly offered to drive me to school after she dropped me home yesterday. Did I take the offer? _Hell to the no._ There was no way I was gonna let her off the hook that easily. She took away the things I loved the most - skateboarding and Sam! Most people would milk it, you know, try to get as much things from the guilty person as possible. I found that useless. I didn't like the idea of someone doing stuff because they felt obligated to do so. If you won't do that for me on a regular day, why do it now?_  
_

I was basically wandering the halls right now, dragging my injured foot along. With each step I took, a sharp pain travelled through my ankle, making me wince. I knew I couldn't walk for much longer, so I thought of different places in the school where I could hide out.

I walked down an unfamiliar hall way and stopped behind a set of large doors. I've been here before. It was the other music room, but it was more of a music hall than anything.

I opened the door and limped in. Surprisingly, it was empty. I guess not many people took interest in music.

Walking a slow pace, I looked at all the instruments in amazement. There were many different guitars lined against the wall, all of which were pretty impressive. I spotted a few drum sets in the corner and walked over to get a closer look. Grabbing a few drum sticks, I took a seat behind the kit and played out a few beats. Man, this school must be loaded because these drums were prestige. The drums were tuned perfectly and created such a clear beat. And don't even get me started on the cymbals. One word for you - _crisp_.

I smiled in contentment as I banged on the snare one last time. This was _heaven_. Excited to see what else was in this room, I got up and started exploring. I came across a few keyboards and basses, and tons of instruments that would belong in an orchestra.

I walked up an incline that led to what seemed like a stage. It was higher than most of the room and gave me a perfect view of everything.

I continued limping around when I came across a huge object that was covered by a large sheet, in the corner of the stage. Getting closer, I could make out the distinct shape of a piano. I grabbed onto the sheet and pulled it off in one swift motion.

The instrument was relatively dusty, but sustained a glossy look to it. I ran my fingers across the black grand piano, feeling the smooth texture. I looked around and saw that it was the only one in the room. This was probably the centrepiece of the whole room - the one thing that united all the other instruments with each other.

I sat down on the padded stool and opened up the lid, revealing the keys. I marvelled at the sight of having a piano under my fingers. Despite owning several guitars and drums, I never had a piano. My dad never got me one no matter how much I begged, and I never figured out why. Of course, I _knew_ how to play the piano because my next door neighbours taught me. I would go over to their house everyday to play until the day I moved - 2 years ago. I've never touched another piano since then.

I applied pressure to one key to test the waters. A soft note responded back, as if it was welcoming me home.

Raising my left hand to join my right, I positioned my hands on the keys. I revelled in the fact how natural this felt, how at home I felt. I pushed a few fingers down, playing a nice calming note.

I did this several times, letting my fingers relearn how to paint the canvas of a piano. After 2 years, I still knew how to touch the piano in all the right ways. I remembered the first piano I learnt on. It was slightly smaller than this one and always had an oaky smell to it. It didn't seem to return my feelings of love when I first started out. All the notes it made were sour and ear screeching, almost like it was rejecting my touch. Over time, I pampered it by coming to visit and play it everyday. The owners often left it alone in the corner of the living room to collect dust, which I found completely upsetting. After about a few months, I knew the piano was warming up to me by how the notes sounded - nice and bright. It probably wanted to repay me for taking care of it and I must say that it was my pleasure.

I played a few more notes and let the last one ring out as I stared down at my hands.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, preparing myself for what was to come next. A familiar melody began to play as my fingers travelled across the keys.

It was slow and gentle. The notes floated into the air, gracing it with its calming presence. I missed this - how playing the piano took me to a whole other world. It was nothing compared to playing the guitar or drums. It was so much more .. healing. It was as if each note mended a wound - both physically and mentally.

The intro was coming to an end and I let out a shaky breath.

I opened my mouth, my hands trembling as I let my voice join the music.

_This town is colder now, I think it's sick of me_

_It's time to make my move, I'm shakin' off the rust_

_I've got my heart set on anywhere but here_

_I'm staring down myself, counting up the years_

I swallowed a lump in my throat and shut my eyes tighter. I was afraid that if I opened them, I'd see someone who was hurt and vulnerable - someone who was broken.

_Steady hands just take the wheel_

_Every glance is killing me_

_Time to make one last appeal_

_For the life I lead_

And I couldn't bare to see myself like that. I didn't want to witness a part of me that I tried so hard to hide from. That sounds silly, doesn't it? Someone who's hiding from themselves. It's not so hard to do actually. Just, don't stand in front of a mirror. People can be mirrors. They can tell you about your flaws, pointing out all the things you would see if you looked into a real one. All the little details and insecurities are on display for people to see and announce.

Now, someone's _eyes_ are the worst mirrors. You know how they say that the eyes are the windows to the soul? Well, that's not how I see it. It's not the window to _their_ soul but rather your own. I look into someone's eyes and I can see myself reflected in them. Their eyes are an open book there for you to read. They reveal all the good and bad in you through their emotions. They critique you and then reflect it all back for you to see.

_Stop and stare_

_I think I'm moving but I go nowhere_

_Yeah, I know that everyone gets scared _

_But I've become what I can't be, oh_

I felt my throat constrict and tighten.

_Stop and stare_

_You start to wonder why you're here not there_

_And you'd give anything to get what's fair_

_But fair ain't what you really need_

_Oh, can you see what I see?_

My voice cracked as I quietly sang the last word.

My hands went limp as a tear escaped through my shut eyes. I hated this side of me. The side that was fragile and weak. I shook my head and took a deep breath. I absolutely hated it.

I ducked my head and stayed like that, trying to get myself together. I wiped away the lone tear and forced all the emotion that was trying to escape down into the core of my body.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to the dim-lighted room. My heart was constricted and heavy, but all-in-all, I couldn't see any broken pieces of myself laying on the ground.

I closed the lid of the piano gently, with a promise that I would return soon.

I got up and made my way down the stage when a shadow caught my attention. I stopped and squinted my eyes trying to figure out what it was.

My heart dropped when I realized that it was a person. The shadow stood by the door, encased by a wall of darkness, watching me.

Panicking, I quickly made my way off the stage and ran out the door past the person.

My ankle was throbbing painfully as I propelled my legs as fast as I could, trying to get as far away as I could. Small tears tracked down my face as my feet pounded the ground.

Had they been there the whole time? No, they couldn't have been. It was dark, so they probably didn't see me. They _can't _see me - not like that.

My body fell forward as my ankle gave out under my weight.

Before my world went black, I thought of the sad blue eyes I briefly caught the moment I ran out the music room.

* * *

**A/N:** _Reviews = Inspiration = Quicker Updates!_

Song used : Stop and Stare by One Republic - covered by Josie


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Enjoy this update! There's Spashley evolution in this chapter. Couldn't keep Ashley stubborn forever, lol. I appreciate all the feedback you leave me. Tell me what you thought about this chapter :)

**_Disclaimer:_ **I don't own the show or characters.

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

Ashley's eyes fluttered open and looked at me with confusion. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide and her whole body tensed as she stared into my own eyes.

"It's okay," I whispered quietly, hoping to relax her.

She frantically sat up, causing me to stumble a few steps back. I held my hands up defensively, trying to show her that I wasn't a danger threat.

"Ashley, it's _okay_." I emphasized the last word. She looked like she was gonna burst in any second now, as if I was a sharp pin and she was a balloon.

Before she got a chance to do anything, the nurse walked in and smiled. "Hey there Ashley, good to see you up. You took a pretty hard fall, according to this young lady," she said pointing to me.

"Uh yeah." She frowned, then looked to the ground.

I took one step towards her to make sure that she was okay, but it only caused her to edge away from the bed she was on.

The nurse went through a file in her hand. "You already had a sprained ankle before you took a spill, so the fall just made it worse really. No broken bones or anything. Just be more careful walking around."

The brunette remained silent, taking in the bit of information she already knew.

"Are you sure that's all?" I asked to double-check.

"Yup, Miss Davies here is perfectly fine."

I sighed in relief and looked at Ashley.

The nurse walked towards me and said, "You're really lucky your friend was here to help you otherwise you would've been on the ground still unconscious. Who knows what would've happened."

".. since I'm okay and everything .. I'm gonna go now," the brunette said quickly, jumping onto her feet, forgetting about her injured ankle. "Agh," she groaned in pain as she her ankle wobbled underneath her.

I ran to her aid and caught her in my arms, but she shoved me off and hopped away to hold onto a counter.

I watched as her eyes roamed around the room, taking in the sight of everything that wasn't me. Her breaths were short and fast - probably from hopping on one foot.

"Hey nurse? Uh, second thoughts," she rubbed the back of her hand on her forehead, " .. I'm not feeling too well, so .. um .. can you call my mom to come pick me up?" she pleaded.

"Sure thi-"

"I can drive Ashley home," I volunteered, raising my hand for the nurse to see. I wanted to get some alone time with Ashley to see how she was doing.

The brunette completely ignored me as she turned her back to me. "Can we call her as soon as possible? I really need to go home because .. uh .. I just .. I need to see .. Sam." She nodded in confirmation, as if she was agreeing with herself.

The nurse looked at Ashley strangely before replying, "Just go to the attendance office and they'll do it for you."

"But-"

"You can go back to class now Miss Carlin. I'm sure you'll have time to socialize with her later."

I looked to Ashley to find her staring intently at the ground, clenching her jaw.

"Are you sure? She might need someone to help her walk around." I tried to convince the nurse.

The brunette crossed her arms and gritted through her teeth, "Do you have any crutches I can use?"

I watched in disbelief as the nurse went over to the closet and pulled out a pair of crutches. Really? Crutches?

"Here, these should do."

Ashley grabbed them and positioned them under her armpits. "Thanks."

Without a glance in my direction, she used her crutches to carry herself through the door and out the room. As she walked out, I felt something in my body constrict.

I took one step forward with intentions of going after Ashley, when the nurse stopped me.

"Go back to class, Miss Carlin."

"But Ash-"

"Class. Now."

I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room.

"Oh, and Miss Carlin?"

I stopped and turned around to the nurse.

"Give this back to your friend," she said as she put a hat in my hand.

Bringing the hat up to examine, I frowned as I realized that she was desperate enough to leave _this_ behind.

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I heard the sound of heels clicking and immediately knew that it was my mom. She walked differently then other people. Her footsteps were heavy and intimidating, making her easy to recognize - at least to me.

"I'm here to pick up my daughter," she drawled while checking her nails. "Something about her falling or something."

I rolled my eyes at her indifference and walked towards her on my crutches. "Let's just get out of here," I mumbled as I passed her.

* * *

I got to the car faster than my mom, even though I was the crippled one. She probably took her time to check herself out every time she passed a shiny object. Doesn't she ever get tired of looking at herself? I barely spend anytime with her and I'm tired of looking at her.

"Ashley, what are you doing standing there? Get in the car," Christine exaggerated, coming out of nowhere.

I stared at the car door contemplating how I was gonna do this. I opened the door to the backseat and threw both crutches in, one after the other. Holding on to the car frame, I opened the passenger door and carefully climbed in - successfully._  
_

The minute I'm settled, I'm startled by my mom. "What the hell took you so long?"

I gave her a hard glare, hoping to send the message that I wasn't gonna put up with her crap today. God, I hope for her sake that she receives it without a problem.

Christine raised her eyebrows, then started the car and drove out of the school parking lot. _Message delivered_.

I let out a breath as we got off school property and felt as if a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

Just as we were about to make a right turn, I grabbed onto my mother's arm and yelled, "WAIT!"

She slammed the brakes and turned her head to look at me with wide eyes. "Good grief, Ashley! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Uh, my bad. Look, I just realized I made plans to meet up with someone, so can you drop me off?"

She gave me a suspicious look before replying, "Fine, where is it?"

"Just drive up that way and stop in that corner over there."

She looked at me one more time for confirmation before she drove off.

* * *

I quickly trudged up to Sam and dropped to the ground with a thud, spreading myself out on the ground.

"You better know that I love you," I took in a deep breath, ".. otherwise I would've never walked an ungodly distance on my crutches." I raised my arms into the air and flailed them around. "God, my arms are so sore."

Laying on the ground, I closed my eyes as I waited for my breathing to even out. Damn, who knew walking on crutches was such a workout?

"Sam?" I waited for answer. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

The tree was silent, showing no sign of communication.

"I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a while," I said with guilt, ".. I sprained my ankle and couldn't skateboard anywhere .."

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

Ashley wasn't in class the next day, which quickly turned into a week. I spent the whole week in music class learning with the teacher, along with most of the class, which was completely disastrous. Let's just say that there are many more injured people in that class now.

I was beyond frustrated with the absence of my partner.

I shook my head as I remembered her performance in the music room. It was so .. heartbreaking. The way she sang the song, the way she played the piano - it displayed a side of her I've never seen before - not that I've _seen_ many sides.

Up on that stage, I could tell that she was breaking with each word that she sang. Each word created a crack in her brick walls, each verse demolishing one. She started the song strong, but by the end, it was weak and quiet. She was stripped of all her defences and left raw. She was _vulnerable_. And something told me that she didn't like that feeling - that she hated it. She probably spent all her time burying it deep inside of her, suffocating it.

The last thing she probably wanted was for someone to see her like that, which was probably why she made a dash for the door when she saw me. Now, don't look at me all creepy. I was actually going to the cafeteria to look for Kyla when I heard music coming from the room, which was weird because it was always quiet. So naturally, I took a look to see what it was which led to me watching Ashley sing which ended with her running away from me.

I groaned in frustration. She was probably never coming back at this rate.

Standing up, I scanned the cafeteria and spotted the one person I was looking for. I quickly walked over there and pulled him aside.

"Ow, watch it," he whined, rubbing his arm.

I rolled my eyes. "I need to talk to you."

"I don't even know who you are."

"We can get to know each other while we talk. Now, come on." I dragged him out of the cafeteria and into an empty hallway.

"What do you want?" he questioned.

"Do you know who Ashley is?"

He nodded in response.

"Good, so do you know where she would go if she was hiding out?"

He looked at me funny and then replied, "I don't know her that well," he shrugged, ".. but if I had to guess, she would be somewhere on the trail. I've been there once with her in grade 9."

I nodded in acknowledgement. "And where is this?"

"Why do you want to know so much?"

"I just do, okay?" I sighed.

He gave in and answered, "Just keep walking down that street," he pointed out a window, ".. until you reach a corner. There should be a small path somewhere there. I guess you can follow that trail and see if you find her along the way."

"Cool, thanks." I ran down the hall and out the doors of King High.

* * *

I found the trail that he was talking about and I've been on it for a while now. This place was beautiful with all the large trees swaying with the wind. I wonder if this was where Ashley spent her lunches.

I checked my watch and saw that class already started. Oh well, I can't really learn in music class without my _partner_, can I?

I kept walking down the path, passing large piles of leaves and pinecones. I stopped and squinted my eyes. In the distance, I could make out a blob on the ground by one of the trees. As I got closer, I smiled in success as I made out the mess of brown curls sprawled out on the grass.

I think she felt someone approaching because I watched as she walked to the other side of the tree that was faced away from the path and sat against it.

Quietly, I stopped at the foot of the tree and sat on the side facing the path. Basically, we were both facing opposite directions.

"So .. nice weather, isn't it?" I asked.

"Fuck," she mumbled.

I chuckled and walked over to her side of the tree and sat across from her. Her head was down and her hair curtained her face.

"Hey, look at me." I poked her leg.

She stayed with her head down.

I sighed and used my hand to tuck some hair behind her ears. Though her hair was out of her face, she was still staring intensely at the ground.

"Ashley.." I drawled, " .. look at me."

She stayed silent as I waited for any response from her.

"Ash, I swear to god-"

"Ash?" She lifted her head and looked into my eyes for the first time in a week.

"Uh .." I stared into her eyes, not too sure of how to respond.

She sighed and looked down at her hands. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," I answered like it was obvious.

"I don't want you here."

"It'd be more convincing if you looked at me while you talked .." I suggested.

She glanced at me before redirecting her eyes elsewhere. "Can you go somewhere else? There's like a hundred other trees you can sit under."

"No, I kinda like this tree actually. It's nice and fluffy."

"Newsflash, it's taken. Now leave."

"But I like this one. It's a keeper .." I preached.

She rolled her eyes. "So are all the other trees."

"Nah, I didn't feel any chemistry with the other trees, you know?"

She looked up and gave me a small smile. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Our eyes stayed connected for a few seconds before she looked down to her lap. Why is she like this?

I leaned over and grabbed one of her hands into my lap. "It's okay," I reassured her, "There's nothing to be afraid of, Ashley. I'm not gonna hurt you."

She stayed quiet as I drew different shapes on her palm. Her hands were soft and small, they were cute.

"I know it freaked you out that I saw you performing that song," her hand stiffened, " .. and I know that you don't like to be weak. You like to be in control."

Her hand started to relax to my touch.

I licked my lips and continued, "But sometimes .. sometimes, it's not so bad to let someone take care of you .. to let someone be strong for you."

Ashley kept her eyes on our hands that were connected before bringing her eyes up to my own.

I rubbed her hand in circular motions with my thumb. "That's what friends do," I whispered, "You're already my friend, but you have to let me be yours."

Her eyes stayed on mine for a while, as if searching for something I didn't know of. She looked to the large tree beside her then returned her eyes to me.

Silently, she took off her hat and placed it gently on my head.

* * *

**A/N: **So how did you like this chapter? Now that they're 'friends' now, we'll be able to look more into Ashley's past as she slowly reveals herself to Spencer. Tell me what you think their friendship will be like? Thank you for all of you that leave reviews, it makes me happy :)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I had some personal issues to sort out, but things are all good now. I promise I won't leave you for this long ever again, lol. Probably gonna update 'Nowhere to Hide' next, so I'll keep switching back and forth on the updates. Anyway, thanks for all the feedback, I really appreciate it. Tell me what you thought about this chapter. I love reading your reviews (:

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own the show or characters.

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

This is uncomfortable. Like _really_ uncomfortable.

We were in Spencer's room, with both of us sitting cross-legged on the floor, and me with my guitar in my lap. We've been here since school ended a few hours ago.

I could hear Spencer rambling on in the background as I nervously shifted my weight and looked around the room. The walls were so much more interesting today for some reason.

"So what's your favourite colour? No, wait. What's your favourite _movie_? Oh, and when's your birthday?" She asked excitedly as she gave me a beaming smile.

She's been like this since we got into the room. Every once in a while, she would sneak in a piece of information about herself, too. I kinda liked that part for some odd reason, the new knowledge about Spencer, that is. But everything else - not so much.

I'm not use to this. I'm not use to having all the attention on me. I felt cornered, trapped almost, and it was a feeling that I tried to avoid at all cost. It made me feel like I owed it to the person, who was paying their full attention on me, to do anything to please them. All this pressure to entertain or be up to their expectations. Like a puppet.

"Uh, I .. um .." I stuttered, lowering my eyes to my hands.

I mean, I could handle some attention on me, but this was too much. It felt like Spencer was shooting me with her attention-riffle, one shot after another, and I was left trying to dodge the bullets as best as I could. And I was failing miserably because, somehow, an afternoon meant for catching up on lessons turned into what felt like an interrogation starring _me_.

My heartbeat picked up as the questions ran through my mind; they were acknowledged but weren't fully understood. She was still looking at me, waiting for the line of answers to her questions. I knew the answers to the questions, but the words seemed to get lost on its way out of my mouth. I gulped and furrowed my eyebrows.

"I .." I took a deep breath, " .. uh, green?"

She shook her head and chuckled, "You don't sound so sure."

Spencer raised her eyebrows, challenging me when I said nothing in response.

"Look .. can we get back on track now? We have a lot to learn.." I insisted, desperate to get the spotlight off of me.

"We have plenty of time," she pointed out, "I wanna get to know you some more. So, tell me about yourself."

I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. Either she's really bad at reading body language or she's oblivious because I'm pretty sure a blind person could see how uncomfortable I was. You could basically feel my discomfort radiating off of my body, but yet Spencer seemed to be wearing too many layers because she isn't picking up on any of it.

"Hmm, how about your fav-"

This was becoming too overwhelming, hell, it became a lot more than that a long time ago.

I stood up abruptly and smoothed out my shirt. "Uh .. I have to go now," I put my hand on my forehead, "I totally forgot that, um, I have an appointment with .. a doctor." I stammered as I gathered my stuff.

I could feel Spencer's eyes burning a hole in the back of my head as I moved around her room, which made the urge to flee even greater. As I put my guitar back in its case, I heard Spencer speak.

"Ashley, wait."

I could hear the floor creaking as she walked closer to me.

I felt her hands on my shoulders as she turned me around to face her. She gave me a small smile as she guided me to her computer chair, lightly pushing me down, gesturing for me to sit.

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

Ashley sat down with reluctance. I knew she was a little uncomfortable, judging by her appearance.

I kneeled down and placed my hands on her knees. I noticed that she was fidgeting, finding a way to tap her fingers against her thighs or bounce her leg up and down.

"Hey .. it's okay," I said gently as I stopped her knee from bouncing. The minute I stopped her knee, her fingers started a rhythmic beat on her thigh.

I chuckled lightly at her nervousness. "That was too much wasn't it? With all the questions and everything?"

She cleared her throat and looked down to the ground. "Uh, yeah .. a little."

"Sorry, it's just sometimes I get a little curious."

Ashley looked to her hands as she fiddled with her fingers, almost as if she was ashamed that she couldn't handle all the questions that was thrown at her.

She looked nervously at me before she spoke.

"It's just I'm not use to this," she confessed. "All this attention is so new to me and it makes me feel all .." she paused for a second to think of the right word, "..exposed."

I took a minute to soak in what she just told me. _Exposed_. It sounded so repulsive. Exposed like you were just some object on display. I frowned at the thought. Is that why she avoids people?

Ashley's lips were pursed together and her eyebrows were furrowed. I sighed with worry.

I caressed her jean-cladded knees with my thumbs. "When you get attention from the right person, you won't feel exposed. You'll feel safe and protected knowing that they're watching out for you. I promise, kay?"

She nodded her head quietly.

Deciding to lighten up the mood, I headed back to my bed and sat down.

"Did you still wanna go because I still have no clue what we did in class for the whole week you were gone.." I drawled out.

Ashley chuckled and shook her head. She grabbed her guitar and sat down across from me.

* * *

After an hour of learning how to combine chords, we decided to take a break. It was mostly for me because my fingers were _killing_ me. It felt like they were all butchered.

We weren't doing much. I was telling Ashley a few stories from my childhood to pass the time and I kinda wanted to ease Ashley into this friendship.

"So, what's your favourite colour?" I asked.

She seemed more relaxed now, nowhere near as nervous as before.

She raised her eyebrows at me, "Didn't I already say it was green?"

"Come on, don't lie to me. You answered it like you were asking yourself if green was your favourite colour."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "What's _your _favourite colour?"

"Easy. It's red. Now your turn."

She looked into my eyes with a weird look.

I felt my cheeks blush as she gazed intensely into my eyes. For the first time ever, _I'm_ the one that breaks eye contact with Ashley.

"Blue," she breathed out as if realization just dawned on her, "that's my favourite colour."

A quiet moment passed before I spoke again.

"I thought it was green." I teased in a small voice.

I looked up at her and she did the cutest thing _ever_.

She gave me a smile, one that I've never seen before. One that was untainted by fear or worry, just pure contentment.

This was a_ nose-crinkling smile._

* * *

**A/N: **Sometimes, I get really anxious and excited thinking about how these two will end up together in this story, but then I get afraid that I will rush things too much in order to get to the fluffy part of their relationship. So probably not gonna see any romantic Spashley anytime soon. Tell me what you think in the reviews :)


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Yay update! Happy belated birthday to Ambeezy and this one's for you :) I think I should start naming my chapters to make things less confusing and to make the timeline more clear .. yeah. Thanks to all the new followers and reviewers and I know that it's been a while. Let me know what you thought of this chapter. I love reading your reviews :)

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

The lunch bell rang as students quickly rushed out the door. I made a quick stop at my locker to exchange some books.

"Hey Spence."

I turned to see Madison leaning against the lockers, checking her nails. I wonder why she's always fascinated with her freakishly long nails. Like how does she even manage to do things with those monsters attached to the tips of her fingertips.

"Shouldn't you be in the caf helping Kyla with something?"

"Yeah, but she said that she was gonna be late so here I am to grace you with my presence," she smiled.

I closed my locker and started my way down the hallway to the cafeteria with Madison. I tried my best to keep up with her as she talked about her latest boyfriend - or what I like to call her boy toy. He probably won't last her a week, two tops.

"So do you have your eyes on any cute guy yet?" Madison asked.

"Uh, not really looking right now .." I drawled as I spotted Ashley coming out of her class. I still feel guilty every time I see her on her crutches. It's like a constant reminder that it's all my fault, not that it wasn't, but I'd rather not be silently scolded by the crutches every time I see her.

"You should really find a guy Spence. I mean you are one fine-"

"Hey, go grab a seat in the caf. I'll catch up with you later." I quickly escaped before she took out my head (and before I was mentally scarred). Madison hated being interrupted.

I found Ashley again, walking slowly on her crutches.

"Hey, where you headed?" I asked as I approached behind her. She turned around, looking a bit startled until she saw me.

She gave a shy smile and said a quiet 'hi' then continued to walk to her destination.

"Do you want me to carry your bag? It looks a little heavy." I asked as I noticed that the bag made her walk funny with the crutches.

"I'm good."

I eyed her warily. _Okay then. _

I stopped when she stopped. It seems like she was just stopping by at her locker. I looked around and noticed that her locker was in a secluded area of the school.

I looked back at her. I think she preferred it this way - nice and quiet. I know for sure that Madison's locker hallway is always filled with people - jocks, cheerleaders and people of that nature. I chuckled quietly as I imagined Ashley having Madison's locker. She would probably end up trying to beat everyone away from her locker with her crutches. Or sulk quietly. No wait, maybe she would just give everyone the evil eye. Hmm, I'll figure her out someday.

"Um, can you .. I don't know, look somewhere else? I can feel your eyes burning a hole in the back of my head," she said nervously without looking at me.

I felt my cheeks blush as I quickly turned my eyes to the space next to her head. "Sorry .."

A few minutes passed and she was still ruffling with stuff inside her locker. My stomach grumbled and that's when a thought hit me.

"Hey, do you want to have lunch with me?"

Her eyes did a subtle glance at me before they returned to her locker. "Uh, no I'm fine. You can go if I'm holding you up."

Ugh, this might be harder than I thought. For some reason, I had this intense want for her to spend lunch with me.

"Come on, don't you want to spend time with me?" I pouted - even though I know by now that it has no effect on her.

She looked at me with raised eyebrows then returned to her locker without giving me an answer.

"Are you saying that you don't like spending time with me?" I gasped. I think I'm good company if you ask me - the best in fact.

All I get is a muffled chuckle from inside her locker.

I slumped myself against the lockers and crossed my arms. "I'm pretty awesome," I stated, more so to boost my self-esteem. "You'd see that if you spent lunch with me."

Finally, she closed her locker with a big huff.

God, what was she doing in there? I moved around her to take a peek inside her locker but her voice stopped me before I could do so.

"I'm only doing this once, okay? But you so owe me," she mumbled as she walked away with her crutches.

I did a small smile in victory and caught up beside her.

I led her all the way into the caf and to the table Madison was sitting at. As I sat down, I was greeted with a glare from the latina.

She pointed a finger at me and said, "I would slap you but I just did my nails." Her attention quickly shifted when she noticed Ashley sitting beside me. "And who's this?"

"This is Ashley," I answered once I saw that it was evident that she wasn't gonna introduce herself.

Madison did a quick nod and resumed doing what seemed like ogling at herself in her handheld mirror.

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to Ashley just in time to see her sneaking in earphones into her ears.

She saw me and stopped midway, looking somewhere between guilty and smug, like she was caught dealing illegal drugs.

I gave her a 'don't even think about it' look, hoping that she won't use them to block everyone from her. Trust me, I've been victim to the earphone Ashley once and it stung. There was no chance of getting her to speak to me once those suckers were in.

Her earphones continued their slow journey to her ears, like they were cautious of the roadblocks in mid air. Ashley looked at me and gave me an innocent 'what'.

I glared at her once the earphones were in. Her defence seemed to weaken because the next thing I knew, she was burying her head inside her arms. _Great_.

I tugged at her arm. "Ashley."

Nothing.

I tried again. "Ash," I said in a warning tone. I poked her in her stomach which caused her to jump slightly and shift further away from me. I sighed. She's gonna have to come up for air eventually.

Before I had too much time to sulk about Ashley beside me, Kyla arrived at our table and sat down beside Madison, across Ashley and I.

"Sorry I'm late guys. Teacher had to talk to me about something .." she trailed off when she noticed the body beside me. She stayed silent for a few moments until she came to a realization. She pointed at Ashley with wide eyes and mouthed 'dead body'. She grabbed the straw that was lying on the table and was about to poke Ashley with it but I slapped her hand away.

"This is Ashley, you know, my music partner," I said.

Ashley still had her head down.

"Huh, so this is the unfortunate one stuck with you?" Kyla asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."

Kyla raised her hands in defence then turned to Madison to talk.

I gave Ashley a hard nudge that finally caused her to lift her head.

She looked tiredly at me. "What?"

"Uh .." I tried not to look down when she licked her lips, but failed miserably. It was Kyla that shook me out of the staring contest between me and Ashley's lips.

"HEY, IT'S YOU!" she announced quite loudly, but everyone in the cafeteria was too busy with their own group to notice.

"Ugh, Kyla keep your voice down," Madison groaned. Kyla could be very loud when she wanted to. Like ear-screeching loud.

"No," she tapped the table with one hand and used the other to point at Ashley, "that's her!" she exclaimed.

Ashley still had her earphones in and looked indifferent to the situation.

"Ashley?" I asked in confusion.

Kyla nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Remember that girl that I was talking to you about? The one that bumped into me and didn't even say sorry?!"

Oh yeah .. that was the day Ashley caught me staring at her. Well, what were the chances of these two running into each other?

By the time I was brought back into reality, Kyla was standing in front of Ashley and supposedly giving Ashley a piece of her mind.

".. goes around shoving people and not apologizing!? There should be a law against that, you should be in jail!" Kyla preached with her arms flailing around, not even half done because she launched into another monologue.

Ashley looked at me amused and returned back to Kyla. I'm impressed to say the least. The first time I got a piece of the Kyla whoop-ass monologue, I was near tears, but Ashley wasn't even affected.

Kyla finished off with a head roll and a pounding fist into her palm before returning to her seat beside Madison. I turned to Ashley and chuckled when I noticed she had her earphones in the whole time. Poor Kyla for wasting all that energy.

Ashley gave me a grin and sat up straighter.

I smiled back and gestured to her earphones for her to take them off, but she just shook her head.

I pouted at her for the hundredth time since I've known her, hoping that maybe today will be the lucky day it works on her. My pout seemed to work on everyone _but _Ashley. That took a hit to my pouting-esteem.

I smiled in happiness as she took off one earphone. Maybe my pout _does _work on her.

She handed it to me. Huh, I guess not as well as I thought.

I looked at the earphone in her hand with a dumbfounded face. Does she want me to take it? She brought the earphone closer to me. I guess so.

I put it in my ear and frowned when I heard nothing playing. "Ash, there's nothing playing."

She nodded her head in agreement and continued to bob her head like that, making it look like she was bobbing her head to the beat of the music she was _supposed_ to be listening to.

I shrugged and kept the lone earphone in my ear because it seemed to please the brunette beside me.

More people started to crowd our table. A few jocks and cheerleaders from Madison's team and some drama and art students from Kyla's classes.

I felt a tug at my arm and turned to where it was coming from.

"Uh," Ashley looked at the enlarging group nervously then at her hands, "can we leave now?"

The realization hits me that Ashley isn't used to large crowds and loud environments - none the less being a part of them.

I gave her back the earphone and stood up. I held a hand out for her to take, silently saying that I was here for her. She grabbed my hand to lift herself up and it's unknown to me whether she got the message or not because she was already halfway across the cafeteria. Damn, she's fast on those crutches.

Exiting the doors, I'm met with a glum Ashley waiting for me.

"Sorry, for making you ditch your friends .." she apologized, looking down at her shoes.

"Come on, it was lame in there anyway," I smiled, hoping to cheer her up.

Ashley gave me a weak smile.

After a few quiet seconds, my mind wanders off to my stomach. "Hey, do you wanna get some ice cream?" I asked in a childish voice.

Ashley smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah sure, let's go."

* * *

"Come on," I drawled, "let's just take my car to Dairy Queen."

"I am not getting in a car when it is not necessary," she deadpanned.

So right now, we're sitting on the curb of the street ... waiting for the ice cream truck to come by. Yeah, you heard me.

"But .. we've been waiting for," I checked my phone, "10 minutes! A whole 10 minutes!"

I heard Ashley chuckle beside me. I'm so glad she's enjoying my pain right now.

"It's not that bad. The truck should be coming around here soon, it always does," she explained.

I sat up and turned my body towards her. Noticing that her earphones were still on, I pulled on the wire.

Ashley raised her eyebrows and looked at me with an amused expression.

I kept pulling until the whole thing came out and I could see the end. I brought the plug up in front of our faces.

"When you gave me one side in the caf, nothing was playing. Why isn't this plugged in to a music source?" I asked, my voice laced with childish curiosity.

She took the earphone away and tucked it into her pocket. "It usually isn't playing anything at all."

Wait, _what?_ Isn't that the whole point of earphones?

"Why not? Why wear them in the first place if you're not listening to anything?" I questioned.

"I don't know," she shrugged, "It's just nice to kinda drown out everything when you're in a loud room. I think it's kinda dumb to drown out the loudness with more loud music. But with these," she patted her pocket, "it kinda muffles everything and leaves you in a state of peace and calmness."

I nodded my head, trying to understand her logic.

"Plus, it gives me an excuse for people not to talk to me," she said with a hint of a smirk, "but it seems like you've already figured that out."

I blew on my nails for emphasis. "I know. You can say it: Spencer Carlin is awesome."

"Huh, so that's your last name?"

"Yeah .." I said tentatively, "Got a problem with that?"

"I don't like cars," she stated.

"So? What's that got to do with my last name?"

"Spencer CARlin."

I waved my hand for her to explain herself.

"It has 'car' in it." She scrunched up her nose. "Ew."

"Ew? Your last name isn't so amazing either Ms. Davies."

"Ms. Ca-" she placed a hand on her chest and one in front of her. "I can't even say it."

I crossed my arms and glared at her. "I'm not buying you ice cream now."

"Please, I have my own money."

I rolled my eyes.

My ears perked up at the sound of the ice cream truck playing its song.

"Finally!" I exclaimed and stood up. It took long enough.

I felt Ashley tug my hand. "Hey, can you buy me a cone?," she handed me a bill, "I want chocolate."

I scrunched up my nose like she did to my last name and said, "Ew."

She rolled her eyes and smiled at me, gesturing me to go.

When I returned, I had a vanilla cone and a chocolate cone, but both were dipped in a chocolate shell so you couldn't tell which was which.

"Which one is mine?" Ashley asked, looking at the two identical cones.

"That depends."

"On.."

"Is my last name still 'ew' to you?"

She took a minute to seriously think about it and I'm hoping for her sake that she made the right conclusion.

"I don't think you want to hear my answer," she said, eyeing the ice cream cones.

"I'm listening."

Before I knew it, one of my cones were missing.

"HEY! That's not fair!" I whined, stomping my feet.

I watched as Ashley take a bite out of the cone and instantly spit it out. "Ew, ew, ah, vanilla."

I chuckled at her as she tried to get all of it out of her mouth.

"Ewwwww." She held the cone as far away from her body as possible.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the cone from her, giving her the right cone.

She eyed the cone and took it carefully. She gently broke off the tip of the ice cream swirl, confirming that it was indeed chocolate before taking a bite from it.

"Thanks Spence," she said with a mouth full of ice cream.

* * *

**A/N: **So I think this is important to say. If I don't update in a while, it doesn't mean that I abandoned the story. I will never ever ever ever abandon a story so yeah :) It's always in the back of my mind that I have to update and stuff. I hate people that leave good stories incomplete, like there's this void in my heart. Once again, I will never abandon a story.

Anyway, tell me about what you like/dislike about Spencer and Ashley, what you could see happening in the future and so on. Thanks for all the support guys!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Thanks for all your reviews and support, it fuels this story! I know it's been a long time, but I'm gonna try to finish this story before the summer ends so .. yeah. Tell me your thoughts about this chapter and .. this story overall (: **

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I'm anxious. I'm nervous .. and scared.

I looked to the crutches I left to the side then back to my skateboard._ I can do this. I know I can._ God knows how deprived I was of this and it was frustrating. You know how you get sexually frustrated? Yeah well, that whole logic applied here, at least for me. It's like the need to skateboard was building up in me and made me feel all sorts of emotions from anger to anxiousness and it was killing me slowly until I got release.

Gingerly, I put my injured (or hopefully not so injured) foot onto the skateboard and lightly bounced on it to test my limits. _So far so good._ Lining the board with the side walk, I pushed off and waited for my fate to dawn on me.

"Thank God!" I yelled into the air as I rolled down the sidewalk without fail. I spread my arms wide, letting the wind caress my face and gust through my hair.

There's no doubt in where my skateboard was leading me as I repeatedly pushed off my skateboard. Before I knew it, I was settling on the grass in front of Sam. It was like a natural response, like skateboarding and Sam were some how interconnected with each other.

I ran my fingers along the rough bark of the tree trunk. "Good ol' Sam. Miss me buddy?"

It's not the same being driven here, there's just a whole different feeling when you skateboard here. Like you see more things - details that are easily missed in a car ride. Also, I think it makes Sam feel more special, you know, with me putting in a lot more effort to see him and stuff.

I let out an exaggerated sigh and laid down on my back, my hands acting as pillows behind my head.

"My ankle got better," I announced. "It doesn't hurt so much now." I raised my foot in the air, rolling my ankle to demonstrate. There's still a slight pain if I roll it too drastically to one side, but it's bearable.

As I did that, something started to bother me. At first I thought it was the memory of how I ended up injured; how I was forced to spend time apart with my skateboard, or how my sprained ankle caused a strain in my relationship with Sam, but it wasn't that. It was like my sub conscience was nagging me, scolding me in a way. And truth be told, it has been bothering me for quite some time now.

I turned on my side, facing Sam, and started picking at the grass.

"Um, you know that girl that was here a while ago? My music partner?" I set my ankle down softly onto the grass. "She gave me a sprained ankle," I stated as matter of fact. "And she stole my hat .. and wrote on it." My eyebrows furrowed automatically. "What is her problem?" I trailed off, my concentration quickly diverted to Spencer's habit of violating my things.

The leaves rustled, breaking my rampage of thoughts, reminding me to get back on track. _What was I talking about? _

I sat up and crossed my legs, trying to remember the purpose of this conversation. Oh yeah -

"Do you like her? Like is she okay? Does she bother you? Were you uncomfortable with her presence?" I rambled as I came up with a list of questions concerning the relationship between Sam and Spencer.

If Sam was anything like me, I figured he wouldn't take too well to strangers - or Spencer.

I waited for a response from Sam. Anything from leaves falling or rustling, acorns even, but nothing. It would be a bit alarming if it wasn't for the fact that Sam likes to think. Especially these life-altering questions.

"She's .. nice, you know."

Spencer hasn't been here since the first time, so Sam couldn't possibly come to a conclusion that he hated the blonde from just one meeting, right? I mean, I didn't hate her when I first met her .. well, I wouldn't call it hate .. maybe like opposed or something.

"I'll give you some time to think about it," I said after a moment, afraid of what Sam's conclusion would be.

* * *

Today was strange, like something important was missing, and it bothered me because I realized that the strange atmosphere was due to the lack of a certain blonde. Wasn't this what I was always avoiding? That feeling of needing someone, missing them, not being entirely happy until you see them. Spencer was always here. Not once has she missed a day of school since I was paired up with her, hell, even before then when her presence was lost to me among the others in the school, she was always there in the background.

I noticed it first in the morning, when I was at my locker exchanging books. Normally, Spencer would appear, seemingly out of nowhere and out of breath, and strike up a conversation .. ask about my ankle and stuff. I think that was when I felt that weird pang in my chest, a tightening that made it just that a little harder to breathe, when I realized that she wasn't there. I couldn't tell her that my ankle didn't hurt so much anymore, that I could skateboard again. But I shook off the feeling of disappointment and continued to my homeroom.

The time period between homeroom and lunch was stressful. No matter how hard I tried to focus on the lesson, my mind kept wandering off into an abyss full of Spencerness. Things like her habits, words that have escaped her lips, the way she moves, her quirks, and .. the way she looks at me. The fact that I could recall all those things about Spencer stumped me, causing me to become lost in the information displayed on the whiteboard. But it probably meant nothing, right? I'm an observant person, that's all. Of course I'm gonna pick up these things, especially with all the time I've spent by myself looking for little details in my surroundings.

By my next class, I was frustrated, mad even, but at myself. I kept wondering if I did something wrong that made Spencer angry, something that pushed her beyond her pouting ways and caused her to avoid me. But then again, when did I ever care if someone ignored me? I was used to it, used to blending in with the wall, observing instead of participating. So what if one blonde was ignoring me, she could just join the growing line of people who didn't acknowledge me, and I would gladly give her a warm welcoming of 'I don't give a fuck'.

But if she did decide to join the line, I knew I couldn't do that because I do give a fu- I do care. Maybe I would give her a look of disappointment, a small shake of the head along with a glare that portrayed something like betrayal. Something that showed her that I was expecting this all along, that this was a common occurrence; it didn't take me by surprise.

Then lunchtime rolled around.

For the past month or so, I've spent lunch with Spencer - reluctantly so, or at least I tried to keep up that facade. I sat at her table along with a small, raging brunette and a feisty latina. I ate my lunch, stuck my earphones in, and relaxed. A few moments later, we would leave when a larger group started to form. And that was the weird thing to me. Spencer never minded that I didn't take a big group very well. She never gave me a pitied look, but just continued on like it wasn't a big deal, like everyone else was afraid of big groups too.

But today, I spent lunch with Sam, not that I was complaining because Sam is good company. It gave me time to talk to him, but most conversations ended up being about Spencer. But Sam was nice. He kept dropping leaves on me, comforting me with the blanket of leaves.

She was comfort. Her presence for the past month was somehow ingrained her into my mind. All it expects now is _her_. For her to be around me, talking to me, making me talk and interact with her and occasionally with Kyla and Madison.

I hated this feeling of attachment. I felt so unaccustomed to it; it felt nice but it was uncomfortable at the same time. I wanted to get rid of the invisible chain between Spencer and I, but I've grown to like the cold, metal feel of it against my skin despite its bulky weight; I was gradually building muscle that easily carried the weight of the chains.

By the time I walked into Music class and saw that Spencer wasn't there, I was downright pissed. I was annoyed that I felt the range of emotion that drove me off course and off the road, plunging me to my cruel death. But I haven't hit the concrete yet. I was in free fall as I thought about Spencer. You know how people say their life flashed before their eyes before they died? Well, Spencer flashed before mine.

So I sat in class, head down in my arms while I listened to music to distract my thoughts. The mantra kept going through my mind, my lips silently mumbling the words to myself. _I don't care. I don't care. I don't care. _I probably looked crazy to the other people in the class if they even bothered to look around.

When school ended, I couldn't help slamming my locker shut as I roughly threw my skateboard on the ground and skateboarded home.

As I leaned the skateboard against my bedroom wall, I grimaced, feeling guilt creep up on me for the harsh treatment that my skateboard received. With a small pat on the kick tail, I apologized with a timid 'sorry' before throwing myself onto the bed.

I had a massive headache that pounded against my skull, hammering my temple, punishing me for all my Spencer-related thoughts. I laid in my bed, welcoming the ache as it helped dull down my rambling thoughts as I fell asleep.

* * *

Spencer didn't show up the next day, sending me into a repeat of yesterday's performance.

She didn't show up the day after that. Or the next. By then, I was a mess because I couldn't pinpoint this feeling of .. emptiness. I didn't know how to become the Ashley that didn't care for anyone, that didn't _need_ anyone, that didn't need Spencer. There was a lot of therapy talk with Sam, a lot of thinking.

It took all my will power to restrain myself from showing up at her house, pounding down the door and demanding her appearance. It was like my rebellion. You don't show up, I won't either. It was to get the point across that I didn't care if she was ignoring me.

Well, I could only restrain myself for so long before I finally cracked.

Here I was standing at her door, skateboard in hand, curly hair tangled beneath my hat, jaw clenched, and my chest fuming up and down. I was scolding myself for caving as my free hand curled up into a fist and pounded on the door consistently and confidently. The bundle of emotions raged beneath my skin, waiting to be released upon a certain blonde.

Suddenly, something clicked in my mind, like I woke up my a sleep-induced hallucination. As I realized where I was and whose door I was knocking on, my eyes widened and fist froze in mid-air, losing the persistent knock. My jaw slackened as I tried to retrace my steps to see how I ended up here. _  
_

"What am I doing?" I said dumbfounded. I slowly backed away from the porch, the decision made to quickly flee and drown myself in resentment at home in the comfort of my own room.

Just as I turned around when my legs were finally catching up with my brain, the lock clicked and the door opened.

"Ashley, what are you doing here?"

I turned around at the voice of Spencer's dad, greatly relieved that it wasn't Spencer herself.

"Uh, hey Mr. C," I waved awkwardly.

He gave me a welcoming smile that seemed to match the smile in his eyes. "Come on in. I'm sure Spencer will be glad to see you."

I was momentarily brain dead with the opportunity of seeing Spencer after the past three days. "Um, I-I .. uh.." My gaze dropped to the mat near the door as I tried to gather up my words.

"Would you mind watching Spencer for a bit? I have to go by the grocery to pick up some stuff for a new recipe."

I nodded absentmindedly as I entered the familiar house and put my skateboard to the side. The house smelled like Spencer.

He gestured his hand towards the staircase before making his way out the door. "Oh, and Ashley? Please call me Arthur."

With that, the door closed, leaving me in a house alone with Spencer.

I lingered near the bottom of the staircase, thinking of how I managed to get here, but then all thoughts of Spencer returned at once, startling that feeling in my body. Suddenly, I had an intense need to see her, to yell her head off, to get rid of all this pent up emotion bottled up in me.

Determinedly, I ascended the stairs and made my way down the hall to her bedroom. My emotions were fuelling me now, mainly anger that needed some release and I'll be damed if it doesn't.

My jaw clenched as I turned the door knob and more or less threw the door open.

I heard a groan beneath the pile of blankets on the bed. "Go away, dad. I'm not hungry."

I ignored the rush that ran through my body at the sound of her voice and marched my way over to her and sat on the computer chair at the foot of her bed.

"Dad?"

Why does she make me feel this way? Maybe it's because she's my first friend in a while. Yeah, I haven't had a lot of social interaction so this probably stirred up all the buried emotions that were rusty from lack of use. That's probably why I can't describe this weird feeling.

I crossed my arms and furrowed my eyebrows, staring at the lump underneath the blankets. Spencer's lump. I let out a frustrated sigh. _  
_

"Dad?" She questioned again as her body stirred from its original position.

_I didn't miss her._

She sat up and I slightly frowned at the adorable sight. Her hair was a tussled up, her eyes closed as she rubbed them, and blankets pooling around her body. She peeked an eye open when she didn't hear a reply. "Ashley?"

God, I'm gonna burst and I'm not sure because of which emotion. Anger? Happiness? Rage? Joy?

She tilted her head in confusion. "What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice laced with sleep.

I ignored her question and continued to look at her, searching for any type of answer, or at least a clue or two. I could feel my headache creep up on me again. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples in frustration. _  
_

When I opened my eyes, Spencer was in front of me, looking at me with concern etched in her features as she sat at the foot of the mattress. "Are you okay?"

_I am so confused._

She reached out to touch my hand and something in me snapped. I stood up, pushing the chair back roughly.

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

"Where were you!?" She said abruptly as she started pacing the room, her hands making gestures as the words tumbled out of her mouth. "I was all alone! A-and, where were you!"

I winced at the sudden increase of volume before my ears adjusted to the intrusion. Looking at Ashley, I tried to rush out an answer to calm her down from her furious state. "I was at-"

"You weren't there for three days. Three days!" She interrupted. "I-you were, and-" She let out a aggravated growl and stopped pacing, looking directly at me.

I cowered slightly at her intense glare.

"My ankle got better," Ashley informed calmly.

I glanced down to her foot, realization dawning on me that she'd been walking around for the past few minutes. I felt the guilt from the accident immediately leaving my body and returning to the land where guilt resides. "Oh that's-"

"You weren't there the first day," She said quietly, her eyes dropping to the ground. "I was skateboarding."

"I-"

Her eyes snapped back up at the sound of my voice. "And you're falling behind on lessons too!"

I rolled my eyes. _Of course she would mention that. _"I kno-"

"I was alone in class for three days!" She repeated loudly. That seemed to be her mantra as she resumed her pacing around my room. It was tiring trying to follow her with my eyes.

"Ashl-"

"And don't even get me started on lunch," she interrupted once again. "Y-you weren't there."

"Ash-"

"I was- I felt- but it ... it won't go away!" She stumbled on her words as she tried to get them out in coherent sentences.

Growing tired of being interrupted, I waited for her to calm down or at least slow down enough so that I could a word in. I watched as her hands maneuvered through the air, painting wild pictures to convey her emotions. Her eyes flickered around the room, occasionally glancing at me before landing on a random object that held her attention. Her light footsteps created a soft and steady background noise that played along with her voice.

I watched and watched but it seemed like she was only getting angrier.

".. and I don't know why you're mad at me, but I-I get it because," she stopped and furrowed her eyebrows, staring at the ground.

I saw my opening. "I'm not-"

"You weren't there!" And there goes my chance. She continued on, occasionally throwing in that line.

I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her to sit on the bed. She sat for a minute or two, keeping her rant alive, before she bounced off the bed and paced around the room.

_Ugh, I'm too tired for this. _I ran a hand through my hair, trying to figure out a way to calm her down. Where was my dad?

"Ash-"

"A-and, you and I," she stammered.

"Ashley."

"But, I felt like- a-and,"

I let out a groan and wrapped my arms around her waist and roughly pulled her to bed, quickly straddling her before she escaped. I tried to ignore her squirming and settled myself more comfortably on her, hoping that it would ease her word vomit._  
_

I looked down at her and she was still mumbling in her mouth, her eyes looking anywhere but at me. _Doesn't she get tired?_

"... and you c-can get in line too, b-but I c-can't-"

I tilted her face towards me, catching her eyes before she forcefully turned the opposite direction and wriggled beneath me.

"... and the chains a-are uncomfortable, but I h-have muscles-"

I watched her with confusion as the words spilled out of her mouth. _Chains?_ Her hands started waving around dangerously, so I grabbed them and pinned them beside her head. I tried to ignore the way my body reacted to the close contact, choosing to focus on reducing Ashley's panic.

"Ashley. Ashley. Ashley!"

She stopped momentarily and stared with wide eyes. I started to let out a sigh with relief but it seemed to have lit something in Ashley because she started up again.

".. and I was falling and my life f-flashed before m-my eyes, but all I s-saw was-"

"A-and Sam said that-"

".. blanket of leaves .."

"Y-you weren't there .. and you and Sam-"

" .. at lunch, y-you weren't there to p-pull my earphones of-"

She was writhing against me, trying to escape, speaking a mile a minute. My head was hurting from her voice, the voice that grew raspier the longer she spoke.

I let out a growl and lowered my lips to hers, immediately cutting her off mid sentence. She let out a whimper at first contact, words dying on her tongue, instantly putting her mind to rest. Her body started to weaken, lose strength, calming beneath me. I let her hands go, my own moving to rest beside her head to brace myself. My lips moved tentatively while hers were moving desperately. Her lips were soft, gentle, but demanding as if I owed her something. I let a small whimper the moment I felt her tongue swipe my lip, asking for entrance. I knew by then that her word vomit was gone.

I pulled back, our lips making a slight sound as we parted. Our breaths were heavy and evident. I watched as her eyes opened and looked up at me, slowly widening.

Before I knew it, a hand connected with my cheek causing a stinging sensation to replace the area of contact.

"You slapped me," I gasped, raising my hand to my cheek. _Damn, that hurts._

"You kissed me," she accused, pushing me off and standing up. _  
_

"You wouldn't shut up."

"You could've told me to."

"You wouldn't let me get a word in!"

"You don't kiss someone for that!" She shouted back.

"You kissed me back," I reminded her.

"You-" she let out a frustrated groan and sat on the bed. "You weren't there," she said quietly, vulnerability laced in her tired voice.

My eyes softened at the sight of her. Her curls curtained her face, her mouth frowning, lips slightly pouting, and her eyes were swirling with unspoken emotion.

"Ashley," I said, careful not to set her off. "I was sick .. you know, fever, cold .."

"And you kissed me?!" She stood up dramatically as her eyes widened.

I rolled my eyes, trying to push down my urge to smile at her.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter will be a continuation to play this chapter out; it was getting too long. Now, don't get all excited with me (or do), they're not getting together yet so calm your hormones .. or release your hormones. Whatever works for you.**

**So tell me your opinions. The reviews have an impact on the direction of the story so if you wanna suggest anything, by all means, do so. Until next time .. (hopefully it won't be more than a month later).**

**Oh, and it would be greatly appreciated if you guys would let me know how I'm doing on pace and development. I know I'm lacking on Spencer's side but it'll be covered in future chapters.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: It gets a little hot in here, but no need to take off all your clothes. lol, minor warning, but nothing scandalous. Actually, it's nothing really.**

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I paced the room silently, trying to get my thoughts together.

_Oh my god, she kissed me._

I brought the back of my hand up to wipe my mouth, trying to get rid of the taste of her. Truth was, I didn't want to. Every time my tongue made contact with my lips, my taste buds were assaulted with Spencer's essence. I wanted to savour it, burn it into memory and recall it on a bad day - or every day.

_She kissed me._

I could practically feel the air creating a replica of her soft lips as it blew a gentle breeze over my own parted lips, mocking me with the memory.

_Woah, she kissed m-_

"If you keep wiping your mouth like that, your lips are gonna fall off," she said sarcastically. Looking at her, I could tell she was amused, but her tone was etched with remnants of hurt.

"I'm just getting rid of your germs." I lied, rolling my eyes. I didn't want her to know how much the kiss was affecting me.

She hummed in response, occasionally sniffling her nose. It was obvious she was sick, making me wonder how I missed all the signs when I first barged in. Her pale complexion, glassy eyes, and pink tinted nose was clear evidence. Not to mention the coughing and sniffling.

My nose scrunched up as realization hit me - again. _Ew, she kissed me_.

"Plus, I don't want to get sick and miss three days of school, leaving certain people alone to worry," I mumbled as I gave her a half-hearted glare.

A small smile formed on her lips. "You really missed me, didn't you?" She more or less stated.

_Yes_.

"No!" I snapped automatically, wincing as her smile dropped. "I .. uh, you were missing our lessons and .. stuff," I trailed off lamely as I picked at the edge of my shirt.

I could feel her eyes watching me, waiting for me to add on to what I already said. But, I didn't say anything else. I couldn't. The words were caged in my mouth; they were used to being locked up and never being said out loud that they found comfort on the tip of my tongue, chastising me if I ever threw them out into the open to fend for themselves.

"It's okay to say it, Ashley. The gods aren't gonna smite you," she said like she was reading my mind, encouraging me to let it out. I think she wanted to hear the words for herself, to confirm whatever thoughts or insecurities she had.

Still, I couldn't.

_Man, I suck. _

I wanted to say it, to let her know - to let _myself _know that I missed her. But I knew with my luck, once I started talking about those 'forbidden things', everything would spill out. Like if I simply said 'I missed you' then all the other caged words in my mouth would free themselves without my permission, taking the the chance to escape into the air and letting whoever was around to interpret the meaning.

_God knows what would escape. _I couldn't have that. Words were sacred. Feelings were sacred.

I nodded in understanding, not intending on testing out the theory now, but rather saving it for future reference.

She laid down, wrapping the blanket tighter around her shivering body. "I missed _you_, if it counts for anything."

A smile tugged at my lips as I sat down beside her, fiddling with a ring on my finger. "Really?"

I think she noticed the way my face lit up at the simple phrase because her eyes softened in understanding. Spencer nodded, offering me dopey smile.

I didn't hear it often - if not, at all. I didn't mind, at least not really. You can't miss something that you never had, but hearing it come out of Spencer's mouth, it felt really good. It made me feel wanted. I'm so used to being by myself, never hearing any declaration of affection, that when I finally _do _hear it, it seems like it doesn't feel right for the words to be directed at me. Like she meant to say it to the air next to me or something.

She grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers, sighing as they fit snugly around each other.

Her touch lit me up. Everything just seemed that much more intensified, making everything about her hard to ignore. As if the simple act of connecting our hands gave me some secret key that allowed me to unlock the barrier between us and see everything that I never noticed before.

Thing was, I didn't even need a secret key in the first place.

It was all in front of me.

"You're really cold," I noticed, her chilled fingers locked between mine.

She tugged me down towards her, causing my body to jerk forward and my face to come dangerously close to hers.

"Don't you dare kiss me again," I rushed out, quickly putting my hand over her mouth. I didn't think I could take anymore today. I might combust out of .. I'm not sure yet, but the emotions that ran through my body from the first kiss left me light-headed.

She rolled her eyes and mumbled into my hand.

I stared at my hand that was over her mouth, transfixed with the feeling of Spencer's even breaths that tickled my palm. It felt kinda nice and warm, completely opposite of her cold, frigid hand that previously held my own. I could feel her lips lightly brushing my palm with each breath that she took. They were so _soft_.

I think I spaced out or she was running out of air because the next thing I knew, I felt something wet touch my palm - her tongue.

My thoughts suddenly took a deep plunge into the dark and dirty. I immediately took my hand away and wiped the remaining moisture on my jeans.

"I wasn't gonna to kiss you," she clarified. "I just wanted you to lay down with me - extra body heat and stuff." She patted the space next to her. "Plus, you just used my mouth as some kind of furnace for your hand so it's only fair."

I looked at my hand that was now warm from her breath. _Huh, maybe I did. _

I gently laid down next to her and crossed my arms. "Better?" I asked.

"A little," she murmured.

I simply nodded, focusing on my crossed arms instead of the body next to me. I could feel her weight next to me, the gentle dip of the mattress between my body and hers. I didn't want to do anything dumb and make her more sick or something. No, we couldn't have that.

After a few minutes, she scooted closer, causing the bed to dip, and poked my arm. "Wow, real stiff there. You're flexing and everything .." She mused, feeling up my arm.

I blushed and relaxed my body, unaware of how tense it had gotten. "Sorry."

My breath caught as she pried my arms open and closed the remaining distance between our bodies. She laid her head on my shoulder and rested her arm across my stomach as if it was the most natural thing ever.

My body went stiff with the unfamiliar weight on me. This felt intimate. _Way _too intimate for me to be comfortable with. I've never been in this position before. I didn't know what to do, how to react, what the common etiquette was. I was trying to figure out what everyone else did in this situation.

"You're really warm," she mumbled, tightening her arm around me and snuggling into the crook of my neck. "Relax."

I looked down at the blonde hair splayed across my shoulder and took a deep breath to calm my body. I think this worked out in her favour because with this much contact, my body temperature was increasing - fast.

I could feel her dozing off, quickly succumbing to her tired body.

As she got sleepier, I got bolder. My grip around slowly became tighter as hers became looser. My hand started running through her blonde hair as her breaths evened out. Our bodies melded together, providing the perfect mixture of warmth and coolness between our bodies. Finally, when I knew that she was asleep, I planted a light kiss on the top of her head and closed my own eyes.

It was all so new, but it felt so ... right.

* * *

**Spencer's POV**

I woke up to a mess of brown curls covering the side of my face. My eyes adjusted to the clock beside my bed, showing that we were only asleep for roughly two hours.

Moving the strands of hair away, my hand went to the arm that encircled my waist. I smiled as my thumb drew gentle circles on her fore arm. I could feel Ashley's front pressed firmly against my back as her breath tickled the back of my neck.

Somehow, we ended up spooning and it kinda surprised me that she was the big spoon. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, it felt nice being in her arms. I couldn't help but want this, to be this close to her, and for her to want to be this close to me.

I slowly shifted my body around to face her, causing her to let out a disagreeing sigh as her arms tightened. She looked so ... unguarded as she slept. Granted, she was somewhat open when she was around me, but I knew that she was still holding back. The big, intimidating walls were degraded to nice picket fences that still managed to protect knowledge within the barrier.

She tugged me closer, trying to close the unknown distance between our bodies but failing due to the position we were in.

I watched amused as her eyebrows furrowed for a moment before she reattempted to close the distance - once again, unsuccessfully. I wanted to put her out of her subconscious misery. I wanted to pull her close and give her the comfort that my body provided.

She started to settle down with a slight frown on her lips. _God, she was beautiful. _I moved my hand to tuck some curls behind her ears, revelling in the feel of it underneath my finger tips.

One of her legs began to move slowly, searching. I watched as her foot found mine and inserted itself between my ankles. As if she found her destination, the rest of her leg followed and slipped in to rest between mine. My eyes returned to her face. She seemed content with the partial resumed contact.

It wasn't too bad. I mean, it just got ten times hotter in here, but I was managing.

Suddenly, the hand on the small of my back pulled me in roughly as her leg slipped in further.

_Oh god._

Our fronts were completely flushed against each other and her thigh was pressed - oh god. I could feel her chest rising up and down with every breath that she took, and similarly, I could see the way my chest rose against hers. Our noses were lightly touching, my quickened breaths mingling with her evened ones.

I let out a small gasp as she tightened her hold on me, her thigh digging that much deeper between my legs, settling firmly on my clit.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stop the increasing throb between my legs. _  
_

Ashley, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected. Her eyes were closed and her parted lips let out small puffs of air as she slept peacefully with the distance finally closed.

"Ashley," I choked out.

Nothing.

"Ash," I shifted my body slightly, but stopped as soon as her leg followed. "Ashley."

She began to stir, but remained asleep.

"Ashl-"

And I was met with drowsy brown eyes as they stared questionably at me. I momentarily forgot what I called her for, but then she shifted. Her eyes started to wander and when they returned to my face, they were wide awake. I could see her face starting to blush to match the light pink tone I was sure I had.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," she quickly apologized, untangling herself from me and moving to the end of the bed.

I finally relaxed, but my body was suddenly really hot. Probably the fever. Or her thigh.

"It's ... okay," I answered with relief.

She ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry, I've never slept with anyone before so I didn't know that I would do ... that." She waved at my body.

"It's fine, really."

"Yeah .. sorry," she apologized again, looking anywhere that wasn't me.

I reached out to touch her but she jumped back.

"Uh, well I'm gonna go now," she said as she headed to the door. "Bye."

She left before I could even stop her. I dropped back to my bed with a sigh.

_One step forward, two steps back._

* * *

**Ashley's POV**

I could feel my face burning up with embarrassment as I walked - no, _ran_ down the stair case.

My body was burning. I didn't even remember falling asleep like that.

_God, I'm so stupid._

At least now I know I'm a cuddler. I rolled my eyes at the thought. Maybe that explained why I liked having so many pillows around me when I sleep. Ugh, I wished I've gone to a sleepover or something when I was younger. At least I would know about my groping tendencies.

_Damnit_.

Just as I had my hand on the door handle, Spencer's dad called my name.

"... yeah?" I asked cautiously, the thought of just leaving crossing my mind.

"Can you come here for a sec?" His voiced echoed through the house.

I sighed and walked into the kitchen to find him setting up the table. "Yeah, Mr. C?"

"I saved a seat for you at the table," he said, pointing at the place mat.

"Oh no, I really don't want to intrude," I pleaded, hoping he would let it go.

"Nonsense. Call Spencer down and we'll eat together," he smiled, leaving no room for argument. "Be ready in about 20 minutes."

I hesitated before nodding in defeat and headed for Spencer's room.

I carefully entered her room, opening the door to peek in. "Spencer?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn up again.

When I didn't hear anything, I moved closer to see her sleeping on her side. Something tugged at my heart as I watched her. I had the urge to jump into bed with her, hold her, and comfort her. I was new to this friendship thing, but I wasn't entirely sure if friends wanted to do that.

I kneeled down so that I was levelled with her. "Spencer, wake up."

Her bottom lip jutted out a little, protesting. I couldn't help as my finger went to it, tracing it before gently tucking it back into place. Something fluttered in my stomach, or was that my heart? I honestly wasn't sure. I just knew that something was fluttering, giving me this anxious feeling that wouldn't settle.

I cleared my head as I retracted my hand. I could go over all this later and psychoanalyze it in my room when I got home.

"Spence," I coaxed quietly.

She grunted and turned to her other side, away from me.

I sighed as I sat down on her bed. I just kinda stared at the back of her head for a while. I wondered if she felt what I felt, like it was some kind of weird virus that only we shared. Light-headedness, mild discomfort, uneasy stomach, quickened heart rate, loss of breath - all symptoms of whatever we had. At least I hoped that I didn't have this alone because that would kinda suck.

I placed a hand on her hip, shaking her lightly. "Spencer, wake up." She didn't react. "Spence. Dinner." Nothing.

Either she was knocked out cold or she was doing this on purpose.

"Spencer," I groaned. I didn't do begging well. "Wake up for me."

Nothing. No movement, no answer, nothing.

I laid down behind her, being sure to leave some room between us. "Wake up," I whispered gently into her ear, my lips brushing against it with the two words.

She shifted her weight and my hand unconsciously went to her waist to balance myself. At the touch, she let out what sounded like a purr, so I took it as a 'go' and moved closer to her, my front lightly touching her back.

This felt nice. Holding her.

Suddenly, I wasn't so embarrassed about what happened a while ago because this feeling of comfort washed over me.

"Ash?" she croaked into the dim room.

And that feeling is back.

My mind was telling me to let go, run, and get away at the sound of her voice, but her hand held me in place. I cleared my throat, steeling my voice to sound secure. "Yeah?"

"Why are you still here?" she mumbled.

_Because I like holding you._

"Dinner," I answered nonchalantly, shrugging.

"I'm hungry," she said into her pillow, muffling her words, but not bothering to get up.

I didn't say anything in response, not that I could without my voice wavering.

"Why are you holding me?" She asked as she acknowledged my presence, her thumb drew circles on my arm around her waist.

Why _am _I holding her? All I knew was that I didn't want to let go, that this felt like safety - holding onto her.

But of course, I couldn't say it out loud, so I shrugged and tried to move away.

"No, stay."

And I did.

She pulled my arm tighter around her, forcing me to press up against her.

There was a difference between doing this unconsciously and doing it awake. It felt more ... intense, important, and intimate - the three I's. Like we're both aware of what we're doing and allowing it - two consenting parties.

"Do you feel this too?" She asked. Spencer didn't beat around the bush. She never has, probably never will.

"I'm not good at talking about stuff like that," I answered quietly, avoiding the question at hand. It was true though. I wasn't good at talking about anything emotional, probably because I've never had to.

She turned around to face me, her eyes bright and blue. She placed a finger on my chest - my heart. "What are you feeling?"

I wondered if she could feel my heart beating out of my chest. "I'm not sure," I replied honestly. I felt sick, but not like Spencer was.

"Don't close up on me when I ask you this, okay?" She gave me a pointed look. "The kiss, did you feel anything?"

I hesitated. Something got a hold of my throat, making it hard to access my voice. I meekly nodded.

She gave me a small smile. "Now use your words," she instructed, tapping my lips with her finger.

I think I used up all my words on her earlier because nothing was coming out now. My lips opened and closed before I took a deep breath and repeated the notion. She was patient though. She waited for me, her eyes gazing into mine, trying to guess what might escape my lips. I honestly didn't know what would escape my lips either, so whatever her guess was would be a gamble.

"I think ... I like ..." And my voice stopped. Nothing. Silence. Her eyes lit up at the beginning of my sentence, waiting for me to finish it. I couldn't. It was like I went over my word limit, like every word after it would cost me something I didn't have. I shakily brought my hand up and pointed at her heart, tapping at it once, then twice, hoping she would get the message.

The smile that broke on her face made me feel like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

"Me too," she said, happiness and relief etching her voice.

My smile immediately mirrored hers. "Can .." I hesitated. "Can you say it?" I asked, looking nervously into her eyes, hoping that it wasn't too much to ask for.

She ran a hand through my hair, combing it. "I like you, too," she emphasized every word.

"Really?"

"Really," she nodded, giving me a peck on my nose.

After she pulled back, her stomach immediately growled, and I chuckled at the timing. It felt like it was growling at me for delaying its food.

"Um, well," I didn't know how to word it after the small gesture, "Dinner time," I said simply.

* * *

I sat beside Spencer at the table, as our hands joined. I was across from her parents. I rarely saw her mom, who I learned was Paula, around so it kinda surprised me that she was here. I wasn't sure if she liked me or not because her face was expressionless. My other hand was clasped in hers and I took it as a good sign that she didn't have it in a death grip.

I looked around nervously.

"Ashley, would you please mind saying grace?" Paula asked.

I gulped. I've never done this before, but how hard could it be, right?

I bowed my head like everyone else at the table. "Um .. thank you for the food," I started hesitantly, feeling Spencer squeeze my hand. I did a quick glance at her mom before continuing, "... bless the starving children ... bless the people giving the starving children food ..."

Everyone still had their heads down so I took it as a cue to continue my prayer. "Uh, bless the trees and the people who keep them company ... and may everyone find their own tree love ..."

Her father gave me a curious glance while her mom looked at me in amusement. I could feel Spencer's smile directed at me.

What?

"Oh! And thank you - thank you God," I ended, looking up to see their pleased faces before saying amen.

I looked over at Spencer and she gave my hand one last squeeze before she let go.

I felt this overwhelming feeling pass through me. At first I didn't know what it was, but then looking around at the filled table, I realized that I haven't had a family meal like this in a long time. Normally, I would eat alone in my room, or go out to eat. I didn't realize how much I missed this: sitting down and eating together.

I think one of them realized my silence because I heard my name being called.

"Huh?" I asked, not sure what the topic of discussion was.

"I was just asking you to tell us a bit about yourself," Paula said as she picked at her salad. I still wasn't sure where I stood with her, considering that this was the first time I spent more than 5 minutes in her presence.

I shifted nervously in my seat as I swallowed my food. I was not good at this. Ask me a specific question, sure, I'll answer it, but when it came to open-ended questions like this, I failed miserably.

"Uh .." I didn't know what to say or where to start.

"Why don't you tell us about your family," Arthur suggested.

At that I clammed up even further. I shook my head slightly, refusing the suggestion.

Under the table, I felt a hand on my thigh and I looked over to Spencer who kept eating like nothing was going on. She gave me a reassuring squeeze and glanced at me before returning her eyes to her plate.

"I'm an only child," I said, the only thing I was willing to provide about the topic.

The Carlins all nodded. "Spencer has an older brother, Glen, but he's away at college."

I nodded. I already knew this.

"I'm glad you're helping Spencer in Music. She isn't very talented in that department," Paula teased, a smile beginning to form.

I snorted at that. "You can say that again."

"Hey! I'm sitting right here, you know," Spencer pouted, taking her hand away from my thigh.

I noticed that missing warmth and sought out her hand again, placing it back where it was before.

She turned to me, a questioning smile on her face. I tried my best to focus on the food in front of me, feeling the heat creep up my neck from her intense gaze.

I think her parents noticed because they were smiling softly at me like they knew some type of secret I didn't.

At least I knew that Paula didn't hate me.

We finished up our meals with some idle discussion in between bites, Spencer's hand never leaving my thigh.

I liked it there.

I didn't know what this was between us, but I was happy with it. Maybe this was what I was missing with all the non-existent friendships I had before, but something was telling me that this was much more than that.

But I'd have time to think about it later, maybe with Sam.

"Hey, I have to go now," I informed them, apologizing for having to leave.

They gave me understanding looks. Arthur waved at me while Paula gave me an approving nod.

Spencer, on the other hand, followed me to the door to walk me out.

I walked out the door with my skateboard in hand, but just before she closed the door, I turned around.

"Are you gonna be at school tomorrow?" I asked. I had to be prepared if she wasn't.

"Why? Would you miss me?" She teased lightly.

_God, yes. _

I shrugged and looked to the ground. "A little."

She seemed satisfied with the answer, knowing full well what I actually meant.

When I looked up again, she was right in front of me and before I could ask why, she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. It took me a second to return the hug, but I did, wrapping my arms around her small waist and breathing in her unique scent.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she whispered into my ear, giving me one last squeeze before letting go.

* * *

**A/N: Tell me what you thought about this chapter! Feedback is appreciated. **

**I feel bad about the starting chapters of this story because they're so short .. this is the longest one yet so I'm hoping future chapters are about the same length.**


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